3 NK fishing boats, 7 fishermen rescue in Yellow Sea

The South Korean military has rescued three North Korean fishing boats and seven fishermen on them who were drifting near the South Korean island of Baengnyeong in the Yellow Sea.

Three of the fishermen were returned to the North and the remaining four are undergoing investigation by South Korean authorities.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said Friday that the Navy rescued two people on each of the two North Korean fishing boats on the verge of sinking in waters south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean sea border, at 7:12 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday, rescuing all of them. The boats sank after the crewmen were rescued.

The two fishing boats had come more than 6 kilometers south of the border when they were found. Both vessels were about 60 to 80 percent under water, with the crew scooping water out of the boats.

The crewmen were transferred to relevant authorities for investigation into whether they are willing to defect to the South.

Separately, the South Korean military also found a 1.5-ton North Korean wooden boat drifting 4.5 kilometers south of the sea border around 11:35 p.m. Thursday near Baengnyeong. The boat was given fuel and sent back to the North around 2:38 p.m.

Due to a thick sea fog, visibility hovered at just 300 meters and sea water flowed from the North to the South.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff also said three North Korean fishermen drifted to the South with no intent to defect. The three were returned to the North as they apparently had no will to defect or did not express intent to do so, and also did not violate South Korean waters on purpose.

pen@donga.com