Yes you read that headline right:

The crew members of a North Korean freighter regained control of their ship from pirates who hijacked the vessel off Somalia, but not without a deadly fight, the U.S. Navy reported Tuesday.

When the battle aboard the Dai Hong Dan was over, two pirates were dead and five were captured, the Navy said.

Three wounded crew members from the cargo ship were being treated aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams.

The captured pirates were being held aboard the North Korean vessel, the Navy said.

The bandits had seized the ship’s bridge, while the crew kept control of the steering gear and engines, the Navy said.

The Koreans moved against the attackers after the Williams — responding to reports of the hijacking — ordered the pirates to give up their weapons, according to the Navy.

When the crew members stormed the bridge, the deadly battle began. After the crew regained control, Navy sailors boarded the Dai Hong Dan to help with the injured.  [CNN]

It is a strange world we live in when North Korean sailors and the US Navy are battling pirates together.  This incident will probably teach Somali pirates not to mess with North Korean sailors next time considering all North Koreans have mandatory military service and are trained with weapons.  Unfortunately these North Korean sailors especially the ones treated aboard the US Navy ship will probably have to go through a reeducation camp once they get back to North Korea after this exposure to the evil Yankee imperialists.  Nevertheless this is still a pretty amazing story. 

EagleSpeak has a great posting with updates on Somali pirate activity here. 

Popularity: 3%