WWTBAM Bored

NAIROBI, Kenya — U.S. sailors brought injured North Koreans aboard their destroyer for medical treatment after the Koreans were shot and wounded in a battle with pirates off the coast of Somalia, the Navy said Wednesday.

The destroyer USS James E. Williams assisted Korean sailors who retook control of their North Korean-flagged vessel Tuesday in a deadly battle with Somali pirates who had hijacked the boat late Monday.

Lt. John Gay, deputy spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, told The Associated Press that pirate attacks are not rare in U.S. Navy's area of operations and that "it's our duty to help all vessels in distress."

According to the military, the North Koreans asked for medical assistance and gave permission for U.S. Navy personnel to board the ship.

When the Navy boarded the ship with a small team of medics, security personnel and an interpreter, the Koreans already had regained control of the vessel and detained all pirates, the Navy said.

MarleysGh0st wrote:NORK? Is that a standard abbreviation?

A word of thanks from North Korea; bills itself as U.S. partner 'against terrorism'

In an extremely rare public expression, North Korea officially thanked the United States for helping the crew of a North Korean cargo ship hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast late last month, describing the rescue as a symbol of Washington-Pyongyang rapprochement.

A U.S. Navy boarding team from the USS James E. Williams heads toward a N. Korean-flagged vessel to help crew members wounded in a battle with pirates off the coast of Somalia, on Oct. 30. AP/U.S. Navy

"We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen. This case serves as a symbol of the DPRK [North Korea]-U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said