(2nd LD) S. Korea rescues N. Korean ship from attempted hijacking in Somali waters

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean naval unit rescued a North Korean
freighter from being hijacked by suspected pirates in Somali waters on Monday, a
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official said.
The incident, which took place at 5:40 a.m. (Somali time) 37 km south of the
Yemeni port city of Aden, came amid chilled relations between the Koreas that
have been technically at war for over five decades.
A South Korean warship, Munmu the Great, was operating in the Gulf of Aden as
part of a U.S.-led multinational anti-piracy campaign when it received a distress
call from the North Korean vessel, Dabaksol, Col. Lee Hyoung-kook told reporters
in Seoul.
The call was received in Korean through an internationally shared communications
network, prompting the destroyer to dispatch an anti-submarine attack helicopter,
Lee said.
Dabaksol, a 6,399-ton steel transporter traveling eastward, was only 3 km away
from the suspected pirate ship when the helicopter arrived at the scene after
half an hour of flight.
"Our soldiers aboard threatened to fire as part of a standard procedure," Lee
said, adding the pirates began to veer away after about 10 minutes.
The South Korean helicopter continued to hover around the North Korean freighter
as it asked for extended support.
"Will you just continue to protect us?" a crew member on the vessel said,
according to a transcript of dialogue between the two sides.
"Thank you. Please take good care of us," the unidentified crew member said after
receiving assurance from the South Korean helicopter. North Koreans aboard also
waved their hands at the helicopter in apparent gratitude.
The helicopter returned to its destroyer at 13:30 after guiding Dabaksol toward
the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, Lee said.
Pirates use conventional weapons, such as automatic weapons and rocket launchers,
and capture commercial vessels by clambering aboard with ladders and grappling
hooks.
Lee said the South Korean unit, Cheonghae, which carries a crew of 300, could not
immediately estimate the number of suspected pirates on the boat that apparently
carried a set of ladders.
The 2,100-ton destroyer was escorting the fifth South Korean vessel since its
deployment when it received the distress call.
Approximately 500 South Korean ships ply the route each year, according to the
JCS, which estimates 150 are vulnerable to pirate attacks because of their low
speed.
Somalia has not had a functional government since its dictator was overthrown by
warlords in 1991. Poverty has driven a large number of locals to piracy, while
black market sales of weapons run rampant.
According to the U.S. navy, about two dozen hijackings have occurred this year,
well ahead of the pace in 2008.
Over 110 pirate-related incidents took place in the sea off Somalia last year, a
five-fold jump from two years earlier.
Monday's incident marks the third time that the Cheonghae unit has apparently
driven away suspected pirates. Last month, it separately helped a Marshall
Islands-registered ship and a Denmark-registered ship after receiving distress
calls.
The two Koreas are technically at war after their 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce.
Their relations are at the worst point in a decade after President Lee Myung-bak
took office in Seoul early last year with a pledge to get tough on the nuclear
weapons development pursued by Pyongyang.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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