South Korea has returned six North Korean citizens who accidentally drifted into its territorial waters earlier this year, the Ministry of Unification confirmed Wednesday.
The repatriation took place across the inter-Korean maritime border in the morning hours. Two of the individuals had been rescued in the West Sea in March, while four others were found in the East Sea in late May. The first pair reportedly spent four months in the South, marking the longest recorded stay for non-defectors.
The return was complicated by severed inter-Korean communication channels, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered suspended in April 2023. Despite informing Pyongyang through the U.S.-led United Nations Command, Seoul received no formal response prior to the handover.
Nevertheless, a North Korean patrol vessel was present at the designated location, where the six were transferred in a repaired wooden boat.
The repatriation comes amid renewed political shifts in South Korea. All six individuals entered the country following the impeachment and removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who faced backlash over his attempt to impose martial law last December. The handover is the first of its kind under new President Lee Jae-myung.
Lee has pledged to reengage with Pyongyang and has taken steps to ease cross-border tensions, including halting military loudspeaker broadcasts and banning the release of propaganda balloons. Whether these overtures will shift North Korea’s stance remains unclear. In January 2024, Kim referred to South Korea as his country’s “principal enemy.”
