South Koreans, Russians return from North Korea

Fishing boat had drifted into North’s waters

SEOUL, South Korea — Two South Koreans and 15 Russians returned to South Korea on Sunday, following 10 days of detention in North Korea after their fishing boat drifted into North Korean waters, officials said.

The crew members were aboard a Russia-flagged fishing boat when it was detained by North Korea on July 17 after leaving South Korea’s eastern Sokcho port a day earlier.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said in a statement the crew arrived aboard the same boat at Sokcho on Sunday, a day after they left the North’s Wonsan port.

Seoul officials did not immediately explain how they were detained, treated and repatriated, saying

North Korea hasn’t informed South Korea of its decision to release the crew. The ministry said it learned of the boat’s departure from Wonsan on Saturday through various channels that it refused to disclose.

The ministry statement said it “positively” assessed the North’s repatriation of the crew members.

In a Facebook message, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said the “coordinated work of the Russian diplomatic agency” led to their release. It said the ship’s captain was informed of the crew’s planned release 3½ hours before their departure from Wonsan.

An unidentified crew member told Russian state news agency Tass that the ship was released without being fined. “The full crew is aboard the ship, everyone is feeling well,” he was quoted as saying.

The Tass report said the ship was heading to the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan to catch crabs when it was detained. It cited the North Korean foreign ministry representatives as saying the ship was detained for “violating the rules of entry and stay in North Korea.”

Ties between the Koreas remain cool amid a lack of progress in U.s.-led diplomacy aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program.

Seoul said North Korea is holding six other South Koreans it has arrested in recent years on anti-state and other charges.

Fishing boats drift across the Koreas’ eastern sea border in both directions. Earlier Sunday, South Korea’s military said a North Korean wooden fishing boat carrying three people crossed the maritime border on Saturday night. 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saturday 11 12 Monday 13 Monday Tuesday WEDNESDAY Thursday Friday Sunday Tuesday 14 WEDNESDAY 15 Thursday 16 Friday 17 Saturday 18 Sunday 19 Monday 20 Tuesday 21 WEDNESDAY 22 Thursday 23 Friday 24 Saturday 25 Sunday 26 Monday 27 Tuesday 28 WEDNESDAY 29 Thursday 30 Friday 31 Saturday 5:51 5:51 5:52 5:53 5:54 5:55 5:55 5:56 5:57 5:58 5:59 5:59 6:00 6:01 6:02 6:02 6:03 6:04 6:05 6:06 6:06 6:07 6:08 6:09 6:10 6:10 6:11 7:41 7:40 7:39 7:38 7:37 7:36 7:35 7:34 7:32 7:31 7:30 7:29 7:28 7:26 7:25 7:24 7:23 7:21 7:20 7:19 7:17 7:16 7:15 7:13 7:12 7:10 7:09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 113 (1969) 114 (1978) 111 (1994) 114 (1978) 114 (1940) 115 (1940) 116 (1940) 115 (1937) 113 (1937) 111 (2002) 111 (2002) 113 (1939) 111 (1939) 111 (1992) 111 (1992) 110 (1950) 110 (2009) 110 (1939) 110 (2011) 112 (2011) 111 (2011) 109 (2001) 109 (2001) 110 (1944) 110 (1948) 112 (1948) 112 (1948) 63 (1953) 64 (1950) 63 (1950) 64 (1957) 65 (1951) 60 (1937) 60 (1948) 60 (1949) 60 (1949) 64 (1984) 60 (1938) 58 (1938) 55 (1938) 60 (1944) 60 (1938) 55 (1938) 63 (1957) 60 (1968) 56 (1947) 56 (1968) 59 (1944) 55 (1943) 60 (1943) 58 (1945) 57 (1947) 55 (1947) 55 (1942) 104 103 103 103 103 103 103 103 103 102 102 102 102 102 102 102 101 101 101 101 101 101 100 100 100 100 99 81 81 81 81 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 79 79 79 79 79 79 78 78 78 78 78 77 77 77 77