No Clear Intention to Defect Expressed
Government Considering Repatriation and Other Options
Earlier this month, two North Korean residents drifting on a wooden boat in the West Sea were discovered by our military and are currently undergoing investigation.
According to the military on the 21st, at around 11:17 a.m. on the 7th, during a maritime patrol and reconnaissance mission by the P-3 patrol aircraft, a small wooden boat drifting was found about 170 km west of Eocheongdo in the West Sea. Two North Korean men were on board this boat.
The location where they were found is south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea, and the military reportedly secured their custody and conducted a joint intelligence investigation with relevant authorities such as the National Intelligence Service. The investigation so far suggests that it is highly likely they crossed the NLL accidentally due to a problem with the boat.
It is reported that they have not clearly expressed an intention to defect to South Korea. However, the government is also reviewing how to negotiate with the North Korean side in case they wish to be repatriated to North Korea, given that all inter-Korean communication lines are currently cut off.
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