Russian trawler detained in North Korea released: Embassy

The Russian embassy in Pyongyang says North Korea has released a Russian fishing trawler along with its crew after it was seized over alleged violation of entry rules.

According to reports, North Korean border guards detained the fishing vessel belonging to the Russian North-Eastern Fishing Company as well as 15 Russian and two South Korean crew members on July 17 for "violating the rules of entry and stay in North Korea."

The Russian embassy announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that the fishing trawler, named Xiang Hai Lin 8, left the North Korean port of Wonsan late Saturday.

"On July 27, the coordinated work of the Russian diplomatic agency led to a release of the fishing boat Xiang Hai Lin 8…At 19:30, the vessel left the Wonsan port’s pier and headed to Sokcho (South Korea), where two South Korean crew members will come ashore," it said.

The embassy stressed that it would continue to investigate the "circumstances" of the ship's detention.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations, confirmed the release of the boat and the two South Koreans.

The ministry also welcomed the boat's "safe return", calling the release "positive from a humanitarian perspective” after the incident prompted Russia to warn of freezing talks on fisheries cooperation.

Russia's RIA news agency had earlier cited Russia's fisheries agency Rosrybolovstvo as saying that shipping data showed North Korea's action had been illegal and the fishing boat had not entered its waters.

Rosrybolovstvo had said Moscow would not hold any talks on fisheries cooperation with North Korea until the matter was peacefully resolved.

SS