South Korea demanded yesterday that North Korea release a seven-man crew and their fishing boat seized off the east coast days after Pyongyang threatened to retaliate against the South’s recent naval drills.
North Korean authorities seized four South Korean and three Chinese fishermen aboard the fishing boat on Sunday for an alleged violation of the North’s exclusive economic zone. The fishermen were questioned at sea before being taken toward the North’s eastern port of Songjin, South Korea’s coast guard said.
South Korea said it was trying to check if their boat indeed infringed upon the North’s exclusive economic zone.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters that the North had yet to send Seoul any information on the fishermen.
“The government yesterday urged North Korea to take swift action [on the fishermen] in line with international law and practice and I’m reiterating that,” he said.
Last year, the North freed four South Korean fishermen after detaining them for a month for illegally entering the North’s waters.
Meanwhile, North Korea fired about 110 rounds of artillery yesterday near its disputed sea border with the South, a South Korean Joint Chief of Staff officer said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
All the artillery shells harmlessly landed into the North’s waters and caused no damage to the South, the officer said.
South Korea considered the firing to be part of a military drill by North Korea but still bolstered its military readiness against further provocation, the officer said.
Military officers from North Korea and the UN Command are to meet today at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss the March sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North, the fourth such gathering since last month.
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