N. Korean soldier returns home after crossing maritime border

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean soldier rescued earlier this week by the
South Korean Navy was repatriated Wednesday through a truce village straddling
the Koreas, an official here said.
The army sergeant was rescued on Sunday in the Yellow Sea when his boat drifted
south of the maritime border. Officials say he was fishing before he crossed the
Northern Limit Line (NLL).
The soldier has since expressed his desire to return to his country, according to
the U.S.-led U.N. command in Seoul. On Wednesday, the soldier returned through
the Panmunjom Village in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the Koreas, a
South Korean defense official said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
The rescue came as tension persisted in the Yellow Sea where the navies of the
Koreas engaged in a skirmish last month for the third time in a decade.
North Korea refuses to honor the NLL that has served as a de facto maritime
border with South Korea since their 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.
Accidental crossings of the maritime border are rare. In August, North Korea
returned four South Korean fishermen after weeks of detention for accidentally
crossing the NLL in the East Sea.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)