Russian Yacht Katalexa Taken to North Korean Port of Rajin – Russia Embassy

The Russian yacht Katalexa, which was seized earlier in the day by a North Korean vessel, is now docked at North Korea's Rajin port, press attache of the Russian embassy in North Korea Denis Samsonov told Sputnik on Friday, adding that Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora is personally handling the situation.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — According to the Vladivostok Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, on Thursday, the Katalexa, which was reportedly sailing from Taiwan to the Russian city of Vladivostok, was detained by a North Korean ship in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan.

"The Korean side informed us that the yacht is in the port of Rajin. It was taken there at about 22:00 on Thursday [13:00 GMT]. The embassy has set up a unit with Minister Counsellor Alexander Minaev, and Ambassador Alexander Matsegora is personally taking care of all matters related to Katalexa yacht," the diplomat said.

However, North Korea has not yet clarified how the yacht ended up in its territory, according to Samsonov.

"Consul-General in Chondjin Yuri Bochkarev is heading to the port of Rajin where the yacht has been since yesterday. It takes a few hours on a very bad road, he will try to contact and talk to the members of crew," Samsonov added.

Earlier in the day, head of Vladivostok yacht club "Scarlet Sails" Artyom Moiseenkov told Sputnik that three people were believed to be aboard the Katalexa.