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Russian yacht released by North Korea

A file photo of North Korean coast guards

North Korea has released a Russian yacht that it had earlier impounded, with the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang confirming that the five-member crew of the vessel are now on their way home.

“The Russian yacht Elfin today left the North Korean port of Kimchaek and is headed for Vladivostok,” Denis Samsonov, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, told Russian state television on Sunday.

Yury Bokcharev, Russia’s consul in the city of Chongjin, told Russian media that local North Korean officials had said the impounding of the boat had occurred as a result of a “misunderstanding.”

Another diplomatic official in Vladivostok, Igor Agafonov, has confirmed that the five-member crew of the yacht are sailing home.

The Russian sailboat was impounded by North Korean coast guards late Friday as it sailed through the Sea of Japan from a competition in the South Korean city of Busan to its home city of Vladivostok.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry had said Saturday that it had sent a note to North Korea asking for explanation regarding the impounding of the boat.


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