FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

It is thought that the battle ship, which was discovered off the island of Ulleungdo, was sunken during the Russo-Japanese War and could have had the gold of an entire flotilla on board. The Dmitrii Donskoi was an armoured cruiser in the Russian Imperial Navy’s Baltic fleet which was deployed to the Pacific in the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War. The warship would have taken part in the Battle of Tsushima which saw Russia defeated by Japanese warships.

The Russian warship has been discovered off South Korea

The impressive warship was discovered off South Korea

We spotted things that look like treasure boxes, but we have not opened them yet Shinil Group

Some historical accounts have revealed the Dmitrii Donskoi carried the treasury of the entire flotilla which would have included the port expenses and also the salaries of sailors and officers. The gold reserves of various other ships that were damaged in the battle could have been transported to the warship as well. The South Korean treasure-hunting company, Shinil Group, spent many years attempting to find the treasure ship and is now preparing for a joint operation with companies from China, Canada and Britain to retrieve the treasure.

The company said in a statement: “We spotted things that look like treasure boxes, but we have not opened them yet. “We will open them up in due course.” The Shinil firm has pledged to spend 10 percent of the money found on the warship on investment projects on Ulleng Island, which is a popular tourist destination for South Koreans.

Yonhap News have reported on the discovery of the impressive warship