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A Russian cargo ship took in tow a N. Korean schooner which lost control and was drifting in the Sea of Japan, news agencies reported Friday.

The schooner, which had snagged its propeller on a fishing net and came to a halt, was spotted by the Russian vessel Medinenkai Thursday evening approximately 70 miles off the N. Korean coast, the agencies cited Vladivostok’s Marine Rescue Center.

Currently, the N. Korean ship is being tugged to Nakhodka, the home port of the Russian ship, where the schooner will be provided with technical assistance.

On October 23, Russian cargo ship Sinegorye sank in the Sea of Japan off South Korea's coast with a crew of eighteen after being caught in a storm, the rescue operation was conducted by South Korean and Russian patrol boats and aircraft. 11 sailors were saved and another five bodies recovered, including two bodies spotted in the territorial waters of N. Korea. The search for the missing seamen was aggravated by N. Korea’s refusal to allow S. Korean patrol boats to enter its territorial waters, and no N. Korean patrol vessels participated in the rescue efforts.