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| ▲ This Oct. 24, 2023, file photo from Yonhap News TV shows a wooden boat being towed by a South Korean military vessel in the East Sea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
N Koreans-repatriation
S. Korea repatriates 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea across eastern maritime border
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, the de facto maritime border, at around 9 a.m., according to an official at South Korea's unification ministry.
The boat headed on its own toward two North Korea ships waiting on the other side, and the three ships subsequently moved northward, the official said.
In May, South Korea rescued four North Koreans aboard a ship who 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.
Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam has cited humanitarian grounds as he reaffirmed the plan to return them safety and promptly earlier this week. All of them reportedly expressed a wish to go back to their home country.
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