Navy overtakes pirates to help North Korea ship

The US Navy says it overtook a suspected Somali pirate skiff that tried to attack a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden. A Navy statement issued Sunday says a security team aboard the merchant vessel Napht Al Yemen 1 repelled the January 20 pirate attack without US help.
The USS Porter stopped and boarded the pirate skiff later that day. The commercial ship is Yemeni owned but sails under a North Korean flag. The incident marked a rare example of the US military aiding North K rea, a reclusive rogue nation. Piracy is among the fastest ways to make money in Somalia, a nation plagued by war and no functioning government. Somali pirates seized 47 vessels last year. They currently hold about 200 crew members hostage.