N.Korean sailors said to attack Russian coast guard

MOSCOW

Three Russian border guards were wounded in a confrontation with North Korean poachers, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday.

The incident happened in the Sea of Japan, in Russian territorial waters, the FSB Public Relations Center said in a statement on its official website.

During a regular patrol, a Russian Coast Guard ship detected two North Korean vessels and 11 motorboats fishing illegally, the statement said.

The border guards managed to detain one of the vessels with 21 crew members, while the crew of the other launched an attack, according to the FSB.

"The crew of the North Korean vessel (consisting of more than 45 people) launched an armed attack on members of the inspection team of the coast guard ship. Three servicemen got wounds of varying severity," it said.

In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it summoned the North Korean charge d'affaires to personally lodge a protest with Pyongyang.