Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has rejected U.S. concerns over his government's order to expel two foreign journalists for allegedly threatening national security.

Speaking to reporters in Bangkok, Mr. Thaksin urged Washington to tone down statements on the expulsion order and stressed that "Thailand has her own sovereignty."

The U.S. State Department expressed concern Monday after Thai immigration authorities revoked the visas of American Shawn Crispin and Briton Rodney Tasker - both journalists for the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review magazine.

The move followed a January 10th article in the magazine that alleged tensions between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Thailand's constitutional monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej. That issue of the magazine was banned in Thailand.

The two journalists are appealing the expulsion order, which has been criticized by local and international press watchdogs.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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