NKorea releases seized Russian ship: report

A Russian cargo ship seized in the Sea of Japan over the weekend has been released and is on its way to Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday.

"The ship left the Korean port at 2340 GMT. We have constant communications with the ship, all 25 crew members are alive and well, and the ship will return to its home port late Wednesday," Vladivostok rescue centre duty officer Captain Vladimir Yeroshkin was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The Lidia Demech cargo ship, was heading from the Japanese port of Hamata to Vladivostok with a load of cars when was boarded by North Korean coast guard vessels near the Cape of Musudan on Saturday and escorted to port.

According to Russian maritime rescue service, the Lidia Demech was boarded between three and five nautical miles from the North Korean coast, well within the 12 nautical miles most countries claim as territorial waters.

A source in Russia's Pacific fleet told the news agency over the weekend that the ship probably strayed too close to a North Korean missile-testing site.