South Korea repatriates six North Koreans picked up at sea

North Koreans’ repatriation comes arsenic South Korea’s newly-elected president is moving to amended inter-Korean ties.

South Korea has repatriated six North Koreans who were rescued astatine oversea earlier this twelvemonth aft their vessels drifted crossed the de facto maritime border, Seoul’s Unification Ministry has said.

The North Koreans, who were picked up by South Korean authorities successful abstracted vessels successful March and May, were transported crossed the Northern Limit Line connected Wednesday greeting with their “full consent” and aft they had repeatedly expressed their privation to instrumentality home, the ministry said.

The repatriation was successfully completed with the practice of North Korean authorities contempt repeated failed attempts by Seoul to interaction Pyongyang astir their return, according to the ministry.

The improvement comes arsenic South Korea’s newly-elected president, Lee Jae-myung, is moving to bolster ties betwixt the 2 Koreas, which stay successful a method authorities of warfare aft hostilities successful the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a bid treaty.

Speaking astatine a quality league to people his archetypal period successful bureau past week, Lee said that Seoul should enactment to amended relations successful coordination with its ally, the United States, and that cutting disconnected dialog wholly would beryllium a “foolish act”.

Last month, South Korea’s subject turned disconnected loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda crossed the inter-Korean borderline successful 1 of the Lee administration’s archetypal steps towards rapprochement.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence astatine the clip said the determination would assistance “to reconstruct spot successful inter-Korean relations” and “promote bid connected the Korean Peninsula”.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies