VLADIVOSTOK, July 24. /TASS/. Russian diplomats are working to solve the problem of a Russian ship, detained by North Korea last week; they have already managed to meet with the ship’s crew, a Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok told TASS on Wednesday.

"The embassy was notified [about the detention] on the same day [July 18], diplomats have been working to solve the issue from the very outset. As far as I know, they have already managed to meet with the ship’s crew," the source said.

He added that, according to his information, the vessel was detained by North Korea’s border guards. It has 17 crew members on board, two of them are citizens of South Korea.

According to media reports, the detained vessel was Russia’s Xian Hai Lin 8 seiner, owned by the Northeastern Fishing Company. The ship was detained when it was en route to a fishing zone. The ship, flying the Russian flag, was built in 2015 and has a deadweight of 180 tonnes.