The South Korean military has provided assistance to a North Korean ship that got stranded near the inter-Korean border, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea. The sailors on board did not express any desire to defect to the South, as reported by The Korea Times.
The incident was first noticed by a patrol aircraft in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), approximately three kilometers north of the Northern Limit Line. The North Korean authorities were informed about the situation through international communication channels.
A South Korean patrol ship was dispatched to the location after detecting distress signals from the ship. Upon approaching, it became clear that the ship, which had run aground, belonged to North Korea.
It was explained that a drift signal had been received for the past 10 days, with plans to return to the North. The crew requested provisions and drinking water.
Prior to this, the cargo ship “Alexander Gusev” ran aground in the Barents Sea. Measures were taken to address the consequences of the incident involving the cargo ship.
Earlier, North Korea referred to the submarine incursion by the United States into South Korea as a “condition for the use of nuclear weapons.”
