A South Korean fishing boat with 43 sailors aboard has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Kenya.
In a statement, South Korea's foreign ministry said the crab fishing vessel was seized off Lamu Island on 9 October.
South Korean media reported the boat had been taken to a pirate stronghold in northern Somalia.
The BBC reports kidnapping for ransom is common in Somalia, which has had no effective government for two decades.
The ministry statement did not say if contact with the pirates had been made or if a ransom had been demanded.
The Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden area off Somalia is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, leading to the Suez Canal.
