(2nd LD) S. Korea to soon repatriate 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea: source

▲ 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)

(2nd LD) N Koreans-repatriation

(2nd LD) S. Korea to soon repatriate 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea: source

(ATTN: ADDS presidential office's comments in last 3 paras)

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government has decided to soon repatriate six North Koreans, rescued from the southern side of the inter-Korean maritime border, via a sea route, a government source said Monday.

"President (Lee Jae Myung) has ordered a swift and safe repatriation because the matter of stranded people is a humanitarian issue," the high-ranking government official said on condition of anonymity, suggesting that the repatriation will take place in the near future.

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 have expressed a wish to go back to the North.

The repatriation plan comes as North Korea remains unresponsive to Seoul's repeated calls, made through the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) and the news media, to arrange the North Koreans' return, with inter-Korean communication channels still severed amid strained ties.

Regardless of whether the North responds, the South Korean government is expected to carry out the repatriation as early as this week, depending on weather conditions.

The government reportedly considered the sea route for the repatriation, as using the land route through the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom would require the supervision of the UNC, which is negative about unilateral repatriation.

The government may place them back on the wooden boats they were rescued in and send them across the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime boundary, as it did in 2017.

In May 2017, while communication lines between the two Koreas were suspended, South Korea unilaterally repatriated six fishermen rescued on the South Korean side of the sea, after repairing their boat and boarding them on it.

While confirming the planned repatriation, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Lee had remarked it would be desirable to respect the wishes of the stranded North Koreans if related circumstances revealed no issues.

"If they simply drifted across the Military Demarcation Line and wish to return to their hometown, where their families and livelihoods are, President Lee believes their wishes should be respected from a humanitarian perspective," Kang said.

"Personally, it's unfortunate that the news came out before the repatriation actually took place," she added.

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