NAKHODKA, Russia -- A court in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka on July 3 sentenced a North Korean citizen to four years in prison for attacking Russian border guards.
Dozens of other North Korean nationals in the high-profile case will be tried later in September.
More than 160 North Koreans were detained in September last year in a two-day operation after Russian border guards encountered two North Korean schooners and 11 motorboats in Russian territorial waters off the Sea of Japan.
Russian authorities said then that one of the boat's crew attacked the guards who boarded the vessel. Three officers were wounded in the incident.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned North Korean Charge d'Affaires Zin Jong Hep over the incident at the time, expressing "serious concern."
Russian coast guards frequently detain North Korean fishermen in the Far East, and some of them are handed prison terms.
Last July, North Korea released a Russian fishing boat with a Russian-South Korean crew after it was detained after Pyongyang claimed it violated its territorial waters.
North Korean Gets Four Years In Prison For Attacking Russian Border Guards
More than 160 North Koreans were detained in September last year after Russian border guards encountered North Korean boats in Russia's territorial waters off the Sea of Japan. (file photo)