Ministry of Unification: "We Will Return North Korean Residents' Bodies, Please Respond"

Dead body presumed to be a North Korean resident found in Incheon Ganghwa waters
"North Korean matchbox, train ticket, and other belongings found"

The Ministry of Unification notified North Korea to inform its position as it plans to hand over the body of a North Korean resident found on the South Korean side last month.

Lee Hyo-jung, deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Unification, stated at a regular briefing at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 9th, "The government discovered one body presumed to be a North Korean resident in the waters near Ganghwa Island, Incheon, on the 19th of last month and has placed it in a nearby hospital," adding, "From a humanitarian and fraternal perspective, we intend to hand over the body and personal effects to the North through Panmunjom around 3 p.m. on the 16th, and we hope the North will promptly inform us of its position via the inter-Korean communication line."

Lee Hyo-jung, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Unification Photo by Yonhap News

The body presumed to be a North Korean resident was estimated to be a male in his 20s to 30s, with a height of 167 cm. The military discovered the body on the 19th of last month, and at that time, an object suspected to be drugs was found among the personal effects. Authorities considered the possibility that the deceased drowned while attempting to cross the Northern Limit Line (NLL) of the West Sea carrying drugs, but it was confirmed that the object in question was not drugs. Additionally, items such as matchboxes, train tickets, and notebooks, which suggest the person was a North Korean resident, were found.

The Ministry of Unification sends notification letters to the North through the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office when repatriating bodies of North Korean residents. However, since North Korea unilaterally cut off inter-Korean communication channels in April this year, sending such notifications has become impossible, and the ministry announced its position through the media this time. The Ministry’s request for the North to inform its position via the communication line is also interpreted as an implicit hope to restore the communication channels through this repatriation. However, whether North Korea will respond remains uncertain.

Previously, in November last year, the government also sent a notification letter to hand over a body presumed to be a North Korean resident, but North Korea did not respond, and the body was cremated. Although the body was severely decomposed, it was believed to be a North Korean resident because it wore a badge (emblem) bearing portraits of North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. North Korea has accepted bodies when such badges or the North Korean resident registration card, the Gongminjeung, were found, but at that time, despite clear evidence, North Korea remained unresponsive.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Unification, a total of 23 bodies presumed to be North Korean residents have been handed over to the North since 2010. The last time the South handed over a body to the North was one found in the West Sea in November 2019.