TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2019) The Russian Xianghailin-8 fishing vessel, released by North Korea after 11 days of detention over maritime boundary violation, has arrived to South Korea, where the two South Korean members of the crew disembarked, local media reported on Sunday.
On July 17, North Korean border guards detained Xianghailin-8 and escorted it to the port city of Wonsan with 17 crew members, including 2 citizens of South Korea, on board. North Korea said that the vessel was detained for illegally crossing the country's water borders. Meanwhile, the shipowner said the vessel had sailed along its usual route and had not crossed the 12-mile zone. The Russian Federal Agency for Fishery said that the seizure was illegal.
The vessel arrived at a South Korean port in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, at approximately 1:00 p.m. local time (4:00 a.m. GMT) after leaving Wonsan in the evening of Saturday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Unification.
The ministry viewed Pyongyang's decision to release the vessel and its crew as "positive from a humanitarian point of view," the report added.
According to the text, the released South Korean sailors have been confirmed to be in good health.�
Earlier in the day, the Russian embassy in North Korea confirmed that the vessel was released.
