South Korea repatriates two North fishermen
Seoul has repatriated two of the five North Korean fishermen who had been captured after their boat was found stranded into South Korea’s territorial waters due to engine failure.
The South Korean Unification Ministry said the two fishermen expressed their desire to go home before they were repatriated to North Korea at the northern village of Panmunjom on Tuesday.
The other three have chosen to stay in South Korea, according to officials.
The fishermen strayed into waters controlled by Seoul after their boat suffered engine failure on July 4.
Panmunjom, located in Hwanghae Province, is an abandoned village on the de facto border between the two Koreas.
North Korea had earlier demanded that the South return all five of the fishermen. Pyongyang said it would take “stern action” if the other three fishermen are not repatriated, urging Seoul to identify the rest of the fishermen.
South Korea, however, refused to reveal the information, according to the South’s state Yonhap News Agency.
North and South Korea regularly repatriate civilians who accidentally land in each other’s territories.
Last month, Seoul repatriated two North Korean fishermen rescued off the east coast in February.
The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of military rhetoric since the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. No peace deal has been signed since then, meaning that Pyongyang and Seoul technically remain at war with one another.
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