Russian Consul General, N. Korean Authorities to Meet Over Yacht Detention

Russia's Consul General in North Korea's Chongjin Yuri Bochkarev is due to meet on Sunday with the authorities of Kimchaek in the wake of the detention of a yacht carrying Russian athletes.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — On Saturday, the Russian Embassy in North Korea sent a note demanding explanation from Pyongyang over reports claiming that the North Korean coast guard had detained the Elfin yacht with athletes from Russia’s Far Eastern Primorsky Territory in the Sea of Japan. Russian Far Eastern transport authorities said that the yacht had been in neutral waters at the time of the incident.

"We have asked the Department for External Relations of the North Hamgyong province's administration to establish conditions for us to head for Kimchaek to meet with the crew," Bochkarev told RIA Novosti prior to his departure.

According to the consul general, the province's authorities also pledged to hold a meeting at the Department for External Relations later in the day.

Following the reports on the yacht's detention, the Russian Foreign Ministry, its mission in Vladivostok and the Consulate General in North Korea were tasked with working to resolve the situation surrounding the incident through diplomatic channels.