11 N. Korean asylum seekers arrive in S. Korea by boat

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap)-- A group of 11 North Korean asylum seekers arrived in
South Korea by wooden boat through waters off the South's east coast Thursday, a
government source said.
The source said on condition of anonymity that the group was comprised of nine
adults and two children. The five males and six females expressed their desire to
seek asylum in the South after crossing into South Korean waters in a 3-ton
fishing boat around 6:30 p.m. and arriving in the South Korean port town of
Jumunjin on the east coast.
An army sentry detected the boat on a radar around 3:48 p.m. and tipped off the
South Korean Coast Guard, which moved to confirm the defectors' willingness to
defect to the South and guided the boat to the port.
"The defectors are believed to have sailed far out in the East Sea to avoid the
watch of a North Korean patrol boat before crossing the sea border and
approaching the east coast," an Army source said.
Seoul is expected to announce details after a joint team of security officers
gathers more information on the background of the asylum seekers and completes
its investigation.
More than 16,000 North Koreans have defected since the 1950-53 Korean War. Last
year, about 2,800 defectors arrived. Most North Koreans flee to the South
overland through China and Southeast Asia, with defections of North Koreans by
water becoming a new trend.
In 1987, North Korean doctor Kim Man-chol's family of 11 came to South Korea via
Taiwan after reaching Japan in a small boat. The family of Yo Man-chol, a former
North Korean People's Security Ministry captain, defected to the South via Hong
Kong in 1994.
(END)