In an extremely rare public expression, North Korea officially thanked the United States for helping the crew of a North Korean cargo ship hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast late last month, describing the rescue as a symbol of Washington-Pyongyang rapprochement.
“We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen. This case serves as a symbol of the DPRK -U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
