Russian officials confirmed Wednesday that 15 of its nationals as well as two South Koreans have been detained for the past week after their fishing vessel drifted into North Korean waters.
The Russian embassy in the DPRK cited the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to say the vessel and crew were seized for “violating the rules of entry and stay in the territory of (North Korea).”
Following their July 17 arrest by border guards, the crew has since been detained at a hotel in the city of Wonsan, with the ship, identified as a Russian fishery company owned vessel, has been impounded in the same city.
According to Reuters:
South Korea’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said on Wednesday that the two South Korean sailors are safe and it has been striving to secure their freedom through consultations with their families, North Korea and Russia.
The ministry further said North Korea hasn’t responded to South Korea’s repeated calls for the repatriation of its two citizens, described as two men in their 50’s and 60’s.
Russian embassy officials have described the detained crew as “in good health” and are seeking to secure their release through “constant contact” with the government in Pyongyang.
Reports say the embassy is further seeking “clarification” on what happened following an official from the company that owns the seized vessel saying border guards handled the crew in “a very harsh manner”.
As Al Jazeera reports, “The deputy director of Northeast, Sergei Sedler, said the vessel was fishing for crab and travelled from South Korea to the Sea of Japan when it was detained some 55 nautical miles (100 kilometres) from the North Korean border. “
The company official described to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper: “Twice a day they are questioning and searching them in a very harsh manner” — in reference to the crew.
Though Moscow and Pyongyang currently enjoy positive trade and diplomatic relations, a 2016 incident which involved the opposition scenario – a North Korean vessel drifting into Russian waters – turned deadly.
That prior incident involved a packed North Korean commercial fishing vessel (reports at the time indicated 48 crew) allegedly “acting aggressively” and attempting to flee when boarded by Russian border patrol guards in the Sea of Japan. One Russian border patrol officer and nine North Korean fishermen were injured after the Russians opened fire as the crew resisted, with one North Korean later dying in the hospital.
No doubt Pyongyang has this prior incident front and center in its mind as Russia seeks to negotiate the release of its 15 citizens currently being held after illegally entering North Korean waters.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/32Jbrln Tyler Durden