Pyongyang says it is investigating stray South Korean fishing boat

(ATTN: MODIFIES lead, UPDATES with details, ADDS background from earlier stories at
bottom)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday it is investigating the case
of a South Korean fishing boat being held at one of its ports after the vessel
strayed across the border in the East Sea, Seoul's Unification Ministry said.

"A pertinent organization is investigating" the case, the ministry quoted a North
Korean official as saying through a maritime phone channel at 3 p.m.
South Korea asked the North to keep it informed on the proceedings of the
investigation, the ministry said.
The 29-ton boat named "800 Yeonanho," carrying four crewmembers, was seized by a
North Korean patrol boat at dawn after it strayed into North Korean territory in
the East Sea. Officials said the squid boat appeared to have experienced a
malfunction in its satellite navigation system or was not equipped with one.
The case is the first involving a South Korean breach of North Korean waters
under the conservative Lee Myung-bak government that was launched in February
last year. Under previous liberal governments, during which inter-Korean
political tensions eased considerably, seized boats were customarily released
after a week or two of inquiry.
Seoul called for the immediate release of the crew and the boat through an
inter-Korean maritime communication line.
In its first response in the morning, North Korea said it "will check the
situation," ministry officials said. In the afternoon, the North confirmed that
it was holding the South Korean vessel and said an investigation was underway,
they said.
The two Koreas hold telephone contacts twice a day, once in the morning and once
in the afternoon, under a 2004 maritime agreement. The accord allows commercial
boats to sail on either side of the border to shorten travel time after first
informing the relevant authorities.
Fishing boats often stray across the inter-Korean border, but none have been
permanently detained since the end of the Cold War era. The last South Korean
boat to be held by the North was the "Dongjin-ho," which accidentally entered
North Korean waters in 1987. Some of its 10 or so crewmembers have since fled
back to South Korea.
The two Koreas have no legal accords to handle such stray boats and usually send
them back on humanitarian grounds, ministry officials say.
Two North Korean boats accidentally strayed into South Korean waters earlier this
year, and both were promptly released, they said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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