Seoul confirms plans to repatriate 6 North Koreans rescued at sea
July 7 (UPI) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed reports on Monday that the government plans to repatriate six North Koreans who were rescued at sea on the southern side of the maritime border, despite a lack of contact with Pyongyang.
"All six North Korean residents rescued from the East and Yellow Seas are actively hoping to return to North Korea, so the government's position is to repatriate them quickly and safely from a humanitarian standpoint," ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said at a press briefing.
The remarks came in response to local media reports that Seoul was planning to repatriate the North Koreans as early as this week.
In May, South Korea's military and coast guard rescued four North Koreans who were drifting in a small boat in the East Sea around 60 miles south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border. A pair of North Korean nationals were also rescued under similar circumstances in the Yellow Sea in March.
Sending the rescued North Koreans home across the land border requires approval and coordination via the United Nations Command. The U.S.-led UNC plays a key role in maintaining and enforcing the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, with duties that include controlling DMZ access and communicating with the North Korean military.
However, the North has not responded to the command's attempts to contact it regarding the repatriation, according to media reports.
In May 2017, while inter-Korean communication was suspended, the South repatriated six rescued North Korean fishermen by repairing their boat and sending them back across the Northern Limit Line.
The Unification Ministry's Koo on Monday would not confirm plans to repatriate the current group of North Koreans by sea.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has made an effort to improve inter-Korean relations since taking office last month and has pledged to restore a military hotline that the North has not responded to since 2023. He recently ordered the suspension of propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the DMZ in an effort to lower tensions in the border area.
Last week, a North Korean man who identified himself as a civilian crossed the heavily fortified land border between the two Koreas and was taken into custody by the South's military.
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