S. Korea to return rescued N. Korea fishermen
AFP
June 18, 2015, 12:32 am
Seoul (AFP) - South Korea will send home five North Korean fishermen who were rescued as their boat drifted in its waters off the east coast, officials said Wednesday.
The North Koreans were picked up by a South Korean coastguard vessel on Tuesday when their boat was found drifting near the eastern island of Ulleung, the South's unification ministry said.
The fishermen were allowed to head back to their home port in South Hamgyong province on Tuesday after fixing a broken engine, but they were found drifting again Wednesday near the island, the ministry said, after further problems with the engine.
South Korea's Red Cross Society has sent a message to Pyongyang, suggesting the fishermen would be repatriated on Thursday because they expressed their wish to return home, the ministry said.
North Korea and South Korea have a disputed maritime boundary, and encroachment by North Korean fishing vessels into waters claimed by the South is quite common.
South Korea's policy is to allow fishermen crossing into what it considers its waters to decide whether or not to return to the North.
In February, Seoul sent home two North Korean fishermen rescued off the east coast.
On Wednesday, North Korea repatriated two South Koreans in their 50s who were detained last month for illegally entering the communist state.
The two -- a 59-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman -- were reported missing while travelling in northeastern China near the border with North Korea.
