VLADIVOSTOK, August 30. /TASS/. More than 70 North Korean sailors have been rescued off the coast of Russia’s Far Eastern Primorsky Region, the Border Department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday, adding that most vessels seeking to escape a major typhoon had already left Russia’s territorial waters. All the sailors received the necessary assistance.

"The FSB Border Department has been assisting the North Korean fishermen who were forced to seek shelter from Typhoon Soulik in the Primorsky Region’s harbors, as well as the shipwrecked ones, in going back to their home country," the statement reads. "More than 70 foreign sailors were rescued during the typhoon. One of the North Koreans suffered a serious injury and remains under medical supervision at one of the regional hospitals. Once he completes all the necessary medical treatment, the North Korean Consulate General in Vladivostok will handle issues concerning his return home," the FSB Border Department added.

Cyclones have been affecting Russia’s Primorsky Region since August 21Cyclones have been affecting Russia’s Primorsky Region since August 21. Last week, hundreds of small North Korean fishing boats approached the Russian coast seeking shelter from bad weather. Some of the boats washed up on the shore.

"Fishermen whose boats are still afloat are taken to the border and then return to North Korea, while those from the shipwrecked vessels will be handed over to North Korea through a simplified procedure. Under Russian legislation, sailors affected by a typhoon are not considered border violators," the FSB Border Department pointed out.