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North Korea to Release Fishin Boat Crew From South Captured During Drills
North Korea said it will release a South Korean fishing boat and crew seized last month when military drills involving the U.S. Navy heightened tensions.
The release is for “compatriotic and humanitarian” reasons, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported today. North Korea captured the boat Aug. 8 and accused four South Korean and three Chinese crew members of illegal fishing.
The release may signal a further warming of relations on the Korean peninsula, which has tested during the past several years by nuclear tests and threats of war. South Korea cut trade ties with the North after accusing its navy of torpedoing a warship in March, an act that killed 46 sailors.
Kim Jong Il’s regime on Aug. 27 freed a U.S. citizen imprisoned for seven months for an illegal border crossing after former President Jimmy Carter flew to Pyongyang. South Korea’s Red Cross on Aug. 31 offered North Korea 10 billion won ($8.5 million) of food, medicine and other goods for victims of floods that have worsened the North’s economic crisis.
The aid offer contrasted with the South’s warning earlier in the month that it would “respond sternly” to provocations after the communist nation fired artillery shells near the disputed western sea border. Kim’s regime had vowed a “physical retaliation” against joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S. Navy last month.
The crew of the 41-ton Daeseung fishing boat will return to South Korean waters tomorrow at 4 p.m. local time, passing across the eastern maritime border, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said today in an e-mailed statement.
The North’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea is preparing its biggest congress in 30 years, fueling speculation Kim may use the forum to legitimatize a transfer of power to his youngest son. North Korea remains technically at war with the South since the 1950-53 conflict ended in a cease-fire, which was never replaced by a peace treaty.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bomi Lim in Seoul at blim30@bloomberg.net
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