South Korea will send back home five North Korean fishermen who were rescued after their vessel sank in the Sea of Japan, the Unification Ministry said Sunday.
The ministry said the five men had expressed their desire to return to North Korea.
The repatriation will take place Monday through Panmunjom, the border village in the demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea.
The North Korean fishing boat sank Friday near the South Korean-controlled Dokdo isles, which are claimed by Japan. The pair of uninhabited isles are known in Japan as Takeshima.
South Korea also rescued three North Korean citizens on a North Korean boat that was drifting due to engine trouble in the Sea of Japan on May 31.
South Korean authorities have allowed two North Koreans who expressed their desire to defect to remain in the South.
North Korea has demanded their repatriation, denouncing the South Korean move as a violation of its sovereignty.
2014 Kyodo News International