A tanker has become the first South Korean-flagged ship detained over suspected oil smuggling to North Korea.
The unnamed vessel is being held at Busan, South Korea, pending investigations into possible breaches of UN sanctions, the Yonhap news agency cited a foreign ministry official as saying.
It is suspected to have been involved in a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of oil to a North Korean tanker.
The vessel has been held since October, it emerged.
The US treasury had earlier listed a South Korean vessel among ships that may have carried out STS operations, but this unit was later cleared of any involvement.
