In this April 24, 2018 photo, a fishing boat from the Republic of Korea arrives on Yeonpyeong island, near the 'Northern Limit Line' sea boundary with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (ED JONES / AFP)
SEOUL – The Republic of Korea's military said on Wednesday it had sent back all seven sailors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, who were aboard a ship it seized after the vessel crossed into ROK waters a day before.
The boat was towed to a ROK border island after crossing the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary between the two Koreas, according to Seoul's military officials.
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A DPRK patrol vessel that was tracing the seized ship briefly crossed the NLL but turned back shortly after ROK military broadcast warnings and fired a warning shot.
ROK military handed the seven sailors and the boat to the DPRK authorities near the Northern Limit Line around 14:00 pm on Wednesday
Seoul's defense ministry said its military handed the seven sailors and the seized boat to the DPRK authorities near the NLL around 14:00 pm (0500 GMT), after the crew asked to return during questioning.
"It's been confirmed that the border crossing resulted from a navigating error and mechanical defects, and all of the sailors expressed their willingness to go back to North Korea," the ministry said in a statement, referring to the DPRK as North Korea.
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The incident came at a sensitive time on the Korean Peninsula. The ROK holds a presidential election on Wednesday, and tensions have risen over Pyongyang's recent missile tests and rising signs of activity at its nuclear testing site.
The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.