Russia says North Korea fired shots in the path of Russian boat

Bloomberg

A Russian fishing boat was in the line of shots fired by a North Korean navy ship in the Sea of Japan, where it was then detained and searched before continuing its journey, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

No one was hurt and the ship was not damaged in the incident, which took place yesterday, the ministry said in a statement on its website today.

The North Korean navy didn’t try to communicate with the Russian boat called “Altay” before shooting at the path the vessel was taking and forcing it to stop, the ministry said. The navy then boarded and searched the ship and questioned the captain, according to the statement.

The incident occurred nearly a week after North and South Korea reopened a jointly-run industrial complex in Gaeseong. It was closed down in April following a nuclear test by North Korea in February and threats against South Korea in March.

Russian ships were detained by North Korea’s navy in 2005, according to Interfax and in 2008 and 2009, according to the state news agency RIA.