 |
| ▲ A wooden boat carrying North Koreans moves northward in the East Sea on July 9, 2025, in this photo provided by the unification ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) |
 |
| ▲ A wooden boat carrying North Koreans moves northward in the East Sea on July 9, 2025, in this photo provided by the unification ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) |
(LEAD) N Koreans-repatriation
(LEAD) S. Korea repatriates 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea across eastern maritime border
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more info; CHANGES photo; ADDS byline)
By Park Boram
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Wednesday repatriated six North Koreans via the maritime border in the East Sea, months after they had drifted into southern waters and were rescued.
A wooden boat carrying them, all fishermen, crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border, at around 8:56 a.m., according to an official at South Korea's unification ministry.
The boat headed on its own toward two North Korea ships, including a patrol vessel, waiting on the other side of the NLL, and the three ships subsequently moved northward together, the official said.
In May, South Korea rescued four North Koreans aboard a ship that had drifted into the South Korean side of the East Sea, following a similar case in March in which two North Koreans were rescued in the Yellow Sea. All of them expressed a wish to go back to the North.
The repatriated boat is one of the vessels the North Koreans were rescued in, with one of them repaired.
"At the moment of repatriation, the North Korea patrol vessel was waiting at the transfer point, and the (repatriated) boat returned on its own," the official noted.
Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam has cited humanitarian grounds as he reaffirmed the plan to return them safely and promptly earlier this week.
The official said the government had confirmed the North Koreans' wish to return home multiple times before being sent back.
The repatriation came even though North Korea had remained unresponsive to Seoul's repeated calls, made through the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC), to arrange the North Koreans' return, with inter-Korean communication channels still severed amid strained ties.
Through the UNC channel, Seoul notified Pyongyang of the repatriation location, but the North Korean ships appeared for the transfer without prior notice or response, the ministry official said.
The repatriation came as President Lee Jae Myung seeks to mend strained relations with North Korea in a bid to ease military tensions and establish peace.
Since taking office last month, Lee ordered a halt to the military's loudspeaker broadcasts against North Korea and urged civic groups to suspend their anti-Pyongyang campaigns to send propaganda leaflets across the border to North Korea.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
