North Korea yesterday demanded the return of a cargo ship seized by Washington last week for violating international sanctions, calling it an “unlawful and outrageous act”.

On Friday, the US Justice Department said it had taken possession of the North Korea-registered bulk carrier M/V Wise Honest, one year after it was detained in Indonesia, citing illicit sanctions-busting activities.

It was the first time a North Korean cargo vessel had been seized by the US for sanctions violations, after several years of high seas cat-and-mouse games in which Korean shippers disguised vessels, used false flags and turned off their tracking transponders to avoid discovery.

A spokesman for the North’s foreign ministry slammed the move on Tuesday, saying it was an “outright denial” of the spirit of a statement signed by leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump at their landmark summit in Singapore last June.