N. Korea reveals they caught S. Korean fishermen... and promises to return them Friday ...
北 "동해 수역 침범 南어선 21일 단속…오늘 오후 송환" North Korea announced via its state media outlet Friday morning that it had picked up a South Korean fishing vessel last week and that it would be sending the boat and its crew back later today. It's the first time in seven years this has happened, and it's caught Seoul a little by surprise. But ultimately it's not expected to ease tensions in the region. Kwon Jang-ho has this report. North Korea unexpectedly reached out to the South on Friday morning. In a report published by the regime's Korean Central News Agency, a South Korean fishing boat was captured in the East Sea last Saturday, north of the de-facto inter-Korean border. According to the report, the South Korean crew deliberately sailed into North Korean waters to catch fish. The crewmen are said to have admitted to their offence and repeatedly apologized, and North Korean authorities decided to repatriate them, from a, quote, 'humanitarian point of view.' The statement also gave the exact time and coordinates where the crew would be dropped off. South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed the veracity of the report, saying it is believed seven South Koreans and three Vietnamese sailors were on board at the time of the capture. Upon arriving in the South, the crew will be questioned by Seoul's intelligence agency and an investigation will take place on how they ended up past the Northern Limit Line. South Korea captures a handful of North Korean boats and sailors in South Korean waters and repatriates them every year, but this is the first time in seven years the regime chooses to return a South Korean boat with its entire crew. In the past, Pyongyang would contact Seoul through a direct line, but those channels of communication have been cut since inter-Korean ties deteriorated last year. (Korean) "We were alerted to the situation by the KCNA news report. During the pick-up, we're not sure if any direct communication will take place, or whether we will just receive the boat, but we will monitor the situation and report on any updates." Although this incident is not expected to be significant in de-escalating current tensions between the two Koreas, experts say the North's decision to publicly repatriate the South Korean sailors does suggest a willingness to maintain civil relations. Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News. Arirang News Facebook: / arirangtvnews ------------------------------------------------------------ [Subscribe Arirang Official YouTube] ARIRANG TV: / arirang ARIRANG RADIO: / music180arirang ARIRANG NEWS: / arirangnews ARIRANG K-POP: / arirangworld ARIRANG ISSUE: / arirangtoday ARIRANG CULTURE: / arirangkorean ARIRANG FOOD & TRAVEL : / arirangfoodtravel ------------------------------------------------------------ [Visit Arirang TV Official Pages] Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld Homepage: http://www.arirang.com ------------------------------------------------------------ [Arirang K-Pop] YouTube: / arirangworld Facebook: / arirangkpop Google+: http://plus.google.com/+arirangworld
