Russians Advance on North Pole

In a race to claim rich natural resources under the North Pole, two Russian submarines successfully dove several thousand feet in Russia's northern territorial waters today, Reuters reported. Though US and Russian subs have long plied the waters under the pole, none has reached the seabed there, at a depth of more than 13,000 feet.

The vessels dove to 4,300 feet, one sub's pilot told a Russian agency, with one returning after five hours and the other remaining behind a bit longer to collect samples on the seabed. Russia is among five countries allowed by international law to stake economic claims within the Arctic Circle; the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark are the others. (More North Pole stories.)