North Korea demands US returns seized ship

North Korea yesterday called for the return of a cargo vessel seized by the US last week for breaching international sanctions. On Friday, the US Justice Department said it took possession of the North Korea-registered MV Wise Honest, a year after it was detained in Indonesia. It was the first time a North Korean cargo vessel was seized by the US for sanctions offences, after several years of catand-mouse games in which Korean shippers disguised vessels, used false flags and turned off their tracking transponders. A North Korean spokesman said the US move was an “outright denial” of the spirit of a statement signed by leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore last June.