Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told reporters that South Korean ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden must strengthen safety measures to prevent such an attack. He didn’t elaborate on the intelligence.
Last Friday, a team of South Korean commandos launched a daring raid on a hijacked cargo ship in the Arabian Sea, rescuing all 21 crew members. Five pirates were captured and eight killed in the rescue.
After the operation, some experts said retaliation seemed unlikely, since the pirates’ business model is predicated on keeping crews unhurt to extract ransoms.
The Defense Ministry also quoted Kim as saying that South Korea is considering bringing the five captured assailants to South Korea to have them stand trial.
On Monday, the chief of staff of the anti-piracy force that patrols the waters off Somalia urged countries to do just that, welcoming a move by the Philippines to consider bringing pirates to the country to try them. US Navy Capt. Chris Chambers was speaking at a briefing on piracy for diplomats, maritime industry members and media in the Philippines, the leading supplier of seafarers globally.
Chambers said finding countries willing to prosecute pirates arrested off the East African coast has been a problem and many captured assailants are simply let go after being disarmed.
