ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's government said on Monday that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized a South Korean ship on the country's western Red Sea Island of Kamaran.
The country's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the Houthis' seizure of the South Korean ship along with two boats that were accompanying it off the Island of Kamaran.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami also held a meeting with the South Korean ambassador to Yemen and discussed the dangerous escalation staged by the Houthis.
The Yemeni minister said that the Houthi escalation along the country's Red Sea coast poses a serious threat to the international shipping lanes.
He stressed that "these provocative and illegal practices will negatively affect the international trade lines," and "the international community to condemn such practices."
The minister also called for the immediate release of the seized ship along with the two boats and their crew as soon as possible.
The Iran-allied Houthi rebels made no comments through their media outlets regarding the seizure of the South Korean ship.
The Iran-allied Houthi rebels control much of Hodeidah while the Saudi-backed government troops have advanced to the southeastern districts.
Yemen has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen's conflict in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.
