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The private Chinese fishing boat freed by Pyongyang Tuesday morning after 12 days of detention will continue its operations in China's waters off the Yellow Sea, its owner said.

The boat owner Yu Xuejun, who was not on board, said that all the fishermen are safe and returning on their way home.

No ransom had been paid, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing yesterday. Yu said earlier the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$97,700).

The boat's captain called Yu on Tuesday afternoon, telling him that armed personnel from the North Korea had restricted the sailors' freedom and stolen tons of diesel fuel.

Yu said the captain had been beaten up by men in North Korean military uniforms during their time in captivity.

Yu said the captors "looked like soldiers, and the captain said they had guns and used force to take over the boat."

The captain had suffered an arm injury but had since recovered, Yu said. No other crew member had been harmed.

The 16 crew had been allowed to move around the boat by day but were locked in a room at night, Yu said.

Yu said the North Koreans took about 5 tons of light diesel oil and 6 barrels of gasoline and food, but navigation and communication equipment that was initially taken was returned.

"Instead of heading back to Dalian (in Liaoning province), the boat will continue fishing until the fishing moratorium in June," Yu said, adding that other Chinese ships will help with supplies.

China's Foreign Ministry has urged Pyongyang to make thorough investigations into the seizure and provide explanations to China.

Hong said that various parties made concerted efforts to facilitate the release as the Chinese government and public were greatly concerned over the incident. China demands North Korea take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of such an incident, Hong said.

This is not the first seizure of Chinese fishing boats by North Korea. In May 2012, three Chinese boats with 29 fishermen on board were hijacked and detained for two weeks by Pyongyang and accused of "fishing beyond borders".

The Liaoning Generic Fishing No 25222, with 16 sailors on board, was seized by an armed North Korean vessel on May 5 in Chinese waters in the Yellow Sea. Yu first publicized the boat's seizure on his micro blog late on Saturday, asking for help from Internet users and the Foreign Ministry.