Two North Korean diplomats accredited in Russia were arrested in Sweden for trying to smuggle 230,000 cigarettes into the country on a ferry from Finland.

"Two North Korean diplomats accredited in Russia, a man and a woman, were arrested on Wednesday after getting off a ferry from Helsinki with 230,000 cigarettes in their car," customs spokeswoman Monica Magnusson told AFP.

"They are currently being held in a Stockholm jail," awaiting a decision the prosecutor in charge of the case, Magnusson said.

She added the two diplomats, aged 54 and 56, were working at the North Korean representation office in Saint Petersburg.

They could be arrested in Sweden as their diplomatic immunity only applied to Russia.

Sentences for cigarette smuggling in Sweden can go from six months to six years.