4 S. Korean fishermen detained in N. Korea to be released

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- Four South Korean fishermen who have been detained in
North Korea for a month are set to be released later in the day, officials said
Saturday.

The fishermen and their boat were seized July 30 after crossing into North Korean
waters as its satellite navigation system malfunctioned.
"North Korea has notified us that the Yeonanho and its crew members will be
handed over to our side of the East Sea at 5 p.m.," said an official at the
Unification Ministry, which handles relations with Pyongyang. "Albeit belated,
it's welcome news. Such an accident should never happen again."
North Korea has insisted that the boat illegally intruded into its territorial
waters, but the communist state said Thursday it will free the fishermen.
The planned release marks the latest in a string of North Korea's conciliatory
gestures this month. Pyongyang sent a surprise delegation last week to the
funeral of the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who held the
first inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong-il in 2000.
North Korea also released a detained South Korean worker who was stationed in an
inter-Korean industrial estate, lifted cross-border traffic restrictions and
restored a cross-border hotline.
South and North Korea remain technically in a state of war since the 1950-53
Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.
sam@yna.co.kr
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