A South Korean naval unit has rescued a North Korean commercial vessel from an attack by Somali pirates.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the Cheonghae Unit's destroyer "King Munmu the Great" received a distress call from the North Korean-flagged vessel "Dabaksol" at 11:40 a.m. on Monday (KST), while patrolling in waters off Somalia.

A Lynx anti-sub helicopter was dispatched within ten minutes of the call and warded off the pirates, who had closed in to less than three kilometers from the North Korean ship.

The South Korean destroyer escorted the 6,399-ton Dabaksol until it returned to its course.

The JCS said the North Korean ship repeatedly expressed thanks to the South Korean naval unit.

Cheonghae is the nation’s first naval unit dispatched to Somali waters on anti-piracy missions.