Korean snipers save ship from pirates

POLITICS - South Korean snipers hovering in a helicopter today chased away pirates pursuing a North Korean freighter in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, while a Russian warship freed eight Iranian citizens held hostage for more than three months. (Call it a week of international co-operation.)

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that a South Korean warship sent a Lynx helicopter to assist the North Korean vessel shortly after receiving a distress call that it was being chased by the pirate ship.

The pirate vessel, 37 kilometres south of the Yemeni port of Aden, gave up chasing North Korea's vessel and sped away after snipers aboard the helicopter fired warning shots.

The high seas drama was a rare instance of recent co-operation between North and South Korea, which have been locked in a bitter cold war since the 1950s.

Also today, Iran's embassy in Moscow announced a Russian warship freed eight Iranians from pirates last week. The 8 Iranians had been held captive by the pirates for almost three months, and praised the Russian navy for the rescue.