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North Korea detains Russian yacht, embassy is making inquiries

The yacht was on the way from the South Korean port of Pusan to Vladivostok

© AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

PYONGYANG, May 14. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Pyongyang has confirmed that a North Korean coastguard ship on Friday detained a Russian yacht Elfin in the Sea of Japan. The yacht was on the way from the South Korean port of Pusan to Vladivostok.

A Russian diplomat has told TASS there were five people on board. The embassy is taking the most active measures to clear up the details, the official said.

Earlier, a spokesman for the yachting club Seven Feet told TASS in Vladivostok the yacht had been on the way home after an international competition. The yacht’s route lay across the neutral economic zone. The detained yacht is being tugged towards the coast.

"The yacht is very small, just 28 feet long. It is very easy to tug. The reasons remain unclear," he said.

The deputy president of the Primorye Sailing Federation Yevgeny Khromchenko said on his page in a social network the incident occurred late at night local time. The information about the incident was promptly transferred to the maritime rescue and coordination center in Vladivostok and the federal security service FSB.

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