By RIA Novosti
Vladivostok (Russia): North Korean coast guards seized a Russian commercial ship Saturday morning and convoyed it to a North Korean port, a Russian rescue coordination centre spokesman said.
The Russian vessel Lidiya Demesh was carrying cars from the Japanese port of Hamata to Vladivostok in Russia’s far east, when a North Korean border guard vessel stopped it near Cape Musudan, three to five miles from North Korea’s shores.
“It (the Russian vessel) could have violated the North Korean border,” Vladimir Yeroshkin said, adding that an armed officer and two border guards boarded the Russian ship and motioned the captain to steer the vessel towards the country’s shores.
No information on the number of the crew or reasons for the seizure is available.