A Russian cargo ship seized by North Korea in the Sea of Japan over the weekend returned to Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok on Thursday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported citing port officials.
"The ship has entered port. All 25 crew members are alive and well," a port official said.
The Lidia Demesh cargo ship was heading from the Japanese port of Hamata to Vladivostok with a load of cars when it was boarded by North Korean coast guard vessels near the Cape of Musudan on Saturday and detained until Wednesday.
According to Russian maritime rescue service, the Lidia Demesh 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.