No one was hurt "when US forces, at the request of both the Libyan and Cypriot governments, boarded and took control of the commercial tanker Morning Glory, a stateless vessel seized earlier this month by three armed Libyans," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
The operation was approved by President Barack Obama and was conducted just after 0200 GMT today "in international waters southeast of Cyprus."
The tanker will be "underway soon to a port in Libya" with a team of US sailors aboard.
The Morning Glory, which departed from the eastern Libyan port of Al-Sidra -- controlled by rebels seeking autonomy from the authorities in Tripoli -- is reported to have loaded at least 234,000 barrels of crude.
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Pyongyang on Wednesday however denied any responsibility for the tanker.
The ship was operated by an Egypt-based company that was allowed to temporarily use the North Korean flag under a contract with Pyongyang, North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday.
"Therefore, the ship has nothing to do" with North Korea, which "has no responsibility whatsoever as regards the ship," KCNA said.