NORTH Korea yesterday claimed its sovereignty had been violated as more details emerged of a machine-gun attack on one of its ships near Hongkong.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said 14 pirates armed with automatic weapons jumped on board the ship just outside Hongkong waters on Wednesday night.
''Those bandits threatened our crewmen by brandishing their weapons and attempted to [steal] the ship in order to rob it of cars and cargo,'' the report said.
Faced with resistance from the 36-strong crew, the pirates left the vessel after two hours, but continued to chase it for more than 19 hours, firing hundreds of rounds of ammunition, the report continued.
''Crewmen of our ship were wounded and the stern, the funnel and the pilot room were riddled with hundreds of shots,'' KCNA said.
''This piracy is a grave crime encroaching upon the sovereignty of [North Korea] and endangering the lives of the crewmen.'' Hongkong officials yesterday complained to the official New China News Agency.
The 2,226-tonne Ko Mal Shan was last night steaming towards Nampo, near Pyongyang, with a cargo of cars and consumer goods.