A South Korean naval helicopter fended off pirates trying to attack a North Korean ship off Somalia early Monday, military officials in Seoul said. The 6,399-ton ship Dabaksol was about 96 kilometres (58 miles) from a South Korean destroyer when it sent a distress signal that it was being chased by a pirate boat, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.
The destroyer despatched its Lynx helicopter, which arrived at the scene in 40 minutes, he said. "The pirates came close to the North Korean ship but retreated as our helicopter approached and threatened to fire," he added.
The North Korean crew extended their thanks via radio, the spokesman said, while photographs released by the South's military showed them waving toward the helicopter. The South Korean destroyer began operating last month to help fight piracy off Somalia, where several Korean ships have been seized.
The incident comes amid frosty relations between the governments in Seoul and Pyongyang. It was the second time that the South Korean unit has reported driving off pirates since deploying last month off Somalia.
On April 16, a South Korean destroyer sent a helicopter to drive pirates away from a Danish-registered ship, the military said. In November 2007 Pyongyang thanked its traditional enemy the United States for helping the crew of a North Korean ship which was attacked by pirates off Somalia. Relations have soured considerably since then between the communist state and Seoul and Washington.
The North has walked out of nuclear disarmament negotiations and says it is restarting its atomic programme with a view to conducting a second nuclear test. Cross-border ties have worsened since a conservative government took office in Seoul in February 2008 and vowed to link major economic aid to progress in nuclear disarmament. The North has also scrapped all peace pacts with the South.
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