South Korea plans to send back five North Korean fishermen this week who have been rescued while drifting on a vessel in the East Sea, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, South Korea’s Coast Guard rescued the North Koreans on a ship that was drifting near the eastern island of Ulleung. They headed back to the North after fixing a broken engine, but they were again rescued on Wednesday morning as they were found drifting in South Korean waters.
As the fishermen aboard the ship expressed their wish to return home, the Seoul government has decided to repatriate them to the North on Thursday, the ministry said in a press release.
“South Korea has sent a message to North Korea that the South will send them back home on Thursday on humanitarian grounds,” the statement said.
The ship had gone adrift from a North Korean port in South Hamkyong Province as its engine seemed to have broken down, it said.
Despite tensions, the two Koreas have a practice of repatriating civilians who accidentally land in each other’s territory.
Yonhap News Agency