Pyongyang tells Seoul it’s probing detained vessel

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Pyongyang tells Seoul it’s probing detained vessel

The North Korean military told South Korean officials yesterday that a related agency was conducting “a specific investigation” into a South Korean fishing boat currently held at a North Korean port.

The 29-ton “800 Yeonan” was towed by a North Korean patrol ship Thursday after veering north of the maritime border. The North Korean military said the fate of the ship and its four crew members will be determined based on the findings of the investigation.

Chun Hae-sung, spokesman for the Unification Ministry in Seoul, said the North agreed to keep the South posted on any new developments.

The 800 Yeonan sailed north of the Northern Limit Line and was tugged away at 6:27 a.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff here.

Military officials also confirmed that a North Korean fishing boat had crossed south of the border near the west coast at 5:13 p.m. Thursday. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North’s fishing boat traveled nearly 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) south of the NLL, later to be followed by a North Korean patrol vessel.

A South Korean Navy ship came out to meet the two vessels, and a military official said it threatened to fire warning shots if the North’s patrol boat didn’t immediately withdraw north of the border. But the North Korean ship remained in South Korean waters as it tried to tow away the fishing boat. The two North Korean vessels had returned to their national waters by 6:04 p.m.

The official said the South Korean Navy would stay prepared “for any contingencies.”

Meanwhile, despite obvious tensions on the peninsula, South Korea has allowed a non-governmental organization to travel to North Korea for the first time since Pyongyang’s nuclear test on May 25. The Unification Ministry in Seoul announced yesterday it had granted permission to World Vision Korea, a relief agency, to visit North Korea from today to Aug. 8. Park Chang-bin, the vice chairman of the agency, will head a delegation of seven as they visit North Korean farms to check harvest conditions and discuss future transfers of farming technology and business opportunities.

According to the ministry, agency officials will stop over at Shenyang, China, en route to Pyongyang.

On Wednesday, the Korean Sharing Movement, which arranges aid to the North, postponed a scheduled trip to Pyongyang after the North declined to issue an official invitation.

On the same day, the Unification Ministry refused to grant the South Korean Committee for the June 15 Joint Declaration, which promotes the declaration reached at the 2000 inter-Korean summit, permission to visit North Korean representatives in China.

The ministry said the committee “had purposes other than humanitarian aid or discussions for aid.”

Ministry spokesman Chun explained yesterday that the ministry acted on its long-standing principle that it would continuously support humanitarian aid efforts to North Korea.


By Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
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