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North Korea’s used to threatening the West with fiery nuclear destruction but now they’ve managed to piss off one of the few countries they’re relatively friendly with.

According to Russia Today the North Korean coast guard have intercepted a Russian yacht in international waters, with no explanation as to why, and forced it back to a North Korean port of Kimchaek.

Now the Russian embassy in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, have demanded they release the Russian yacht and its crew.

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Reportedly the ship’s crewed by a number of sportsmen who were returning to Vladivostok from an international regatta in Busan, South Korea, when they were stopped by a fishing boat sailing under the North Korean flag.

The incident happened this Friday, 85 nautical miles off the shores of North Korea at 19:25 (10:25 GMT)

According to Vesti Primorye, Dmitry Nazarov, the captain of the Russian vessel, was forced to board the North Korean vessel, while the other members of the crew locked themselves inside the yacht.

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Russia’s Emergency Ministry has been told of the incident and the Russian embassy immediately asked the North Korean authorities for clarification on why they’d detained the boat.

The embassy are demanding that the North Korean authorities present detailed information on the incident by the end of Saturday.

It’s believed that the crew accidentally passed into North Korea’s territorial waters because North Korea police a 50 mile stretch rather than the usual 12 miles.

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Meanwhile the vice-president of Russia’s Primorye Yachting Sport Federation, Evgeny Khromchenko, has claimed that the crew have been in touch with their relatives by phone.

Khromchenko explained that the captain of the Elfin was guiding his vessel through a route he had sailed ‘dozens of times‘ and that the crew are likely to be detained for ‘two-three days’.