Iran Press/Europe: South Korea stopped the Russian-flagged vessel, the Sevastopol — which was suspected of heading to North Korea — from leaving the Busan port after it docked there in mid-August for repair, Press TV reported.
Authorities also confiscated the vessel’s documents, saying it was one of the six Russian vessels targeted by United States sanctions back in August.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cargo ship and its crew of 14 Russians are being held “illegally.”
The ministry said in a statement that it told South Korean Ambassador Woo Yoon-Keun on Monday that the South Korean “maritime authorities’ ban on the vessel leaving the port” had to “be immediately canceled.”
According to Russian news agencies, Woo said that he expected the issue to be “definitively” resolved.
“We expect that relations between Russia and South Korea will continue to develop successfully,” he was quoted as saying.
The US Treasury Department blacklisted six Russian vessels for alleged “ship-to-ship transfer of refined petroleum products with North Korea-flagged vessels.”
The Sevastopol’s operator, Gudzon Shipping Co, is also sanctioned by Washington.
Russia denies the allegations of violating UN sanctions.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Washington for pressing Pyongyang with harsh sanctions despite having opened direct talks with the North. He has called on his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to ease pressure on North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s efforts toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal cited US military officials as saying that the Trump administration was convening a multinational coalition to better track ships allegedly supplying fuel to North Korea.
The statement on 24 May 2018 by KCNA state news agency said North Korea, which calls itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was still willing to implement a broad agreement made at a landmark June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The statement also read that US officials are “making baseless allegations against us and making desperate attempts at intensifying the international sanctions and pressure.”
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