South Korea repatriates 6 rescued North Koreans across sea border
A repaired wooden boat carrying the North Koreans crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, at 8:56 a.m., Seoul's Unification Ministry said in a statement to reporters.
"A North Korean patrol boat was at the handover point at the time of repatriation, and the North Korean vessel returned on its own," the ministry said in the statement.
"During the repatriation process, we repeatedly confirmed the North Korean residents' free will to return, and cooperated with relevant organizations to safely protect the North Korean residents until repatriation," the ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said earlier this week that Seoul's intention was to "repatriate them quickly and safely from a humanitarian standpoint."
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. A pair of North Korean nationals were also rescued under similar circumstances in the Yellow Sea in March.
In a background briefing with reporters on Wednesday, a ministry official confirmed that North Korea never responded to notification efforts about the repatriation plan. The South reached out repeatedly via the U.S.-led United Nations Command, whose duties include controlling DMZ access and communicating with the North Korean military.
Seoul informed Pyongyang of the repatriation time and location through the UNC channel, and the North Korean boats appeared without prior notice, the ministry official said.
North Korea has completely cut off communications with the South in recent years as tensions remain high on the Peninsula.
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.
Seoul's Unification Ministry also recently used a press briefing to request that the North give advance notice before releasing water from a dam across the border. Ministry spokeswoman Chang Yoon-jeong called the public appeal a form of "indirect communication" with Pyongyang.
South Korean authorities are currently investigating a North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified land border between the two Koreas and was taken into custody by the South's military. The man identified himself as a civilian, officials said, but they have not confirmed whether he intends to defect to the South.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Netanyahu apologizes for bombing Gaza church after Trump call
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized for the Israeli Defense Force's strike on Gaza's only church. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized for the Israeli Defense Force's bombing of Gaza's only Catholic church Thursday morning. The strike killed three civilians. "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. He added the incident was being investigated. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump called Netanyahu to discuss the attack. Netanyahu told Trump it was a mistake. Netanyahu also expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his "words of comfort." The pope said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" and reiterated calls for a ceasefire. The church's priest, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, was injured. Pope Francis had called Romanelli nearly every day throughout the war. Doctors at al-Ahli hospital said two women were killed, The Times of Israel reported. The third person, who died later, was male. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem named the dead as Najwa Abu Daoud, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said he doubted the strike was an accident. "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this. They hit the church directly," he told Vatican media. The IDF said it did a preliminary investigation after reports of damage and casualties at the church, the Times of Israel reported. "It emerged that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly," the IDF said. "The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them."
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Coming PBS, NPR cuts already hurting many stations
The headquarters for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., in May. Early Friday morning the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's bill to cut PBS and NPR funding. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- A bill rescinding $1.1 billion in funds to public broadcasting is awaiting President Donald Trump's signature, and many critics, including some Republicans, say it will devastate some rural areas and even put the country in danger. The claw-back bill will cut $9 billion in total, including major reductions to foreign aid. It passed the House early Friday morning. The public stations already have received funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to get them through September. Once that money runs out, more than 100 PBS and NPR stations are at risk of closing. The cuts will hit especially hard in rural areas. For example, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday. Public media helped broadcast a tsunami alert, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Their response to today's earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide," Murkowski said Wednesday on X. "They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives." Murkowski was one of two Republican senators who voted against the bill. The effects of the cutting off of funding could be even wider-reaching than expected, obsersers said. "Failing stations will create a cascade effect in this highly connected and interdependent system, impacting content producers and leading to the potential collapse of additional distressed stations in other areas of the country," Tim Isgitt, CEO of advisory firm Public Media Company, told The New York Times. An analysis by non-profit Public Media Company identified 78 public radio organizations and 37 TV organizations that will likely close. They rely on funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for about 30% of their budgets. "I think unfortunately this is cutting off their constituents' noses to spite NPR's face," NPR CEO Katherine Maher said Wednesday on CNN. "It doesn't help anyone to take this funding away." PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement that the cuts "will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas." "Many of our stations, which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts, will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead," she said. Reporting on local issues will see cuts, too. Michigan's WKAR Public Media general manager Shawn Turner said he has already had to lay off nine staffers because of the impending cuts, noting that about 16% of WKAR's budget comes from federal funding. The cuts will prevent the newsroom from doing investigations into issues like the impact of tariffs on Michigan's manufacturing industry, he said. "We've been able to ask [reporters] to begin to do a deep dive in really understanding how that's going to impact the community so that we have that reporting ready to go," Turner said. "Our ability to do that going forward is going to be limited." Native American areas will also suffer from the cuts. They pose "an immediate threat to the survival of small, rural, and Tribal stations across the country," said Loris Taylor, head of Native Public Media. "These hyperlocal stations, many of which are the only source of local news, emergency alerts, educational programming, and cultural preservation, operate with limited resources and rely on [the Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding to stay on the air." Taylor heads a network of 57 Native radio stations. She had privately implored Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to reject the package, The New York Times reported Wednesday. "Without this federal support, Native and rural communities stand to lose critical lifelines that connect them to the rest of the nation," she said.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
North Korea bans foreigners from seaside resort weeks after opening
North Korea has announced that its newly opened seaside resort will not be receiving foreign tourists. The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, opened on 1 July, has been touted as a key part of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's ambitions to boost tourism. In the lead-up to its opening, the resort was promoted as an attraction for both locals and foreigners. But as of this week, a notice on North Korea's tourism website says that foreigners are "temporarily" not allowed to visit. Last week, the first Russian tourists reportedly arrived at the resort in Wonsan - around the same time that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met Kim in the city. Lavrov hailed the seaside development as a "good tourist attraction", and said he hoped it would become popular among Russians, AFP reported. The two countries are set to launch direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang by the end of the month. A Russian tour guide previously told NK News that they had planned several more trips to the resort in the coming months. Wonsan, a city along North Korea's east coast, is home to some of the country's missile facilities and a large maritime complex. It's also where Kim spent much of his youth, among holiday villas belonging to the country's elites. The new seaside resort has lined 4km (2.5 miles) of its beachfront with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and a water park. It has a capacity of some 20,000 people, according to state media. However, since the resort began construction in 2018, human rights groups have protested the alleged mistreatment of its workers. They point to reports of people being forced to work long hours to finish the massive project, under harsh conditions and inadequate compensation. Russian ambassadors attended the resort's completion ceremony on 24 June, along with Kim and his family. Last year, North Korea allowed Russian tourists to visit North Korea after a years-long suspension of tourism during the pandemic. In February, North Korea also started to receive tourists from the West, including Australia, France, Germany and the UK. It abruptly halted tourism weeks later, however, without saying why. North Korea's Benidorm-style resort welcomes first Russian tourists North Korea to open beach resort as Kim bets on tourism Solve the daily Crossword
