Russian yacht seized by North Korea due to ‘misunderstanding’

Moscow, May 15 (IANS) The detention of a Russian yacht by North Korea was due to misunderstanding, a diplomat said on Sunday.

"The explanation is that there was a misunderstanding," Xinhua news agency quoted Yuri Bochkarev, Russia's consulate general in Chongjin, capital of North Korea's Hangyong province, as saying.

A Russian Elfin yacht with five crew members on board was detained by a North Korean coast guard ship in international waters late Friday.

The vessel was on the way from the South Korean port of Pusan to Russia's Vladivostok after an international yachts race.

Pyongyang informed Russia on Sunday that the yacht was allowed to leave the country at 10.00 a.m. (local time), Bochkarev said.

The vessel is expected to arrive in Vladivostok in 24 hours.