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US Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz

In this handout image from the US Navy, an MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance drone flies over the USS Coronado in the Pacific Ocean during a drill April 21, 2021. (US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe, via AP)
In this handout image from the US Navy, an MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance drone flies over the USS Coronado in the Pacific Ocean during a drill April 21, 2021. (US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe, via AP)
    Asharq A-Awsat
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US Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz

In this handout image from the US Navy, an MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance drone flies over the USS Coronado in the Pacific Ocean during a drill April 21, 2021. (US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe, via AP)
In this handout image from the US Navy, an MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance drone flies over the USS Coronado in the Pacific Ocean during a drill April 21, 2021. (US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe, via AP)

Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the US Navy said.

The Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized the ship.

The Navy published pictures of a dozen Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Those ships “forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head toward Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran,” the Navy said.

“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy.”

Last week, Iran seized an oil tanker carrying crude for Chevron amid wider tensions between Tehran and the US over its nuclear program. The Advantage Sweet had 23 Indians and one Russian on board.

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Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters Thursday.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
"In December, they (North Korean troops) engaged in actual combat, during which at least 100 fatalities occurred," Lee said, speaking after a briefing by South Korea's spy agency.
"The National Intelligence Service also reported that the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000."
Despite those losses, the agency also said it had detected signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was preparing to train a new special operations force to ship westward, AFP reported.
Lee noted that the North's elite Storm Corps -- from which the initial deployment was drawn -- had "the capacity to send reinforcements".
The NIS also predicted "that Russia might offer reciprocal benefits" for a new deployment, Lee said, including "modernizing North Korea's conventional weaponry".
The lawmaker added that "several North Korean casualties" had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking "at least at the level of a general".
The NIS said the high number of casualties could be attributed to the "unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are being utilized as expendable frontline assault units, and their lack of capability to counter drone attacks," said Lee.
Burden or asset?
"Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset," Lee said.
His comments follow a senior US military official on Tuesday saying North Korean forces had suffered "several hundred" casualties fighting Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky previously said North Korean troops had been at the heart of an "intensive offensive" in Kursk.
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A landmark defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June came into force earlier this month.
Experts say North Korea's Kim is keen to acquire advanced technology from Russia and battle experience for his troops.
Pyongyang on Thursday lashed out at what it called "reckless provocation" by the United States and its allies for a joint statement criticizing North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, including the deployment of troops.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the 10 nations and the European Union (EU) were "distorting and slandering" Pyongyang's "normal cooperative" ties with Moscow, according to state media.