North Koreans quizzed

SEOUL: South Korea is questioning four North Koreans rescued from waters off the east coast and will return them to the North if they want to go back, the South’s Unification Ministry said yesterday.

Koreans from the reclusive and impoverished North have occasionally defected to the rich, democratic South by fishing boat, crossing the disputed maritime border between the two sides, but most defections are via China.

The North Koreans were found on two vessels on Friday and Saturday by the South Korean navy.

“They are under investigation and will be asked if they want to go back,” spokesman Lee Duk-haeng said. Reuters