South Korea returns North Korean boat, 7 crew members

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s army on Wednesday returned a North Korean boat and its seven crew members throughout the international locations’ disputed western sea boundary a day after they drifted into waters close to a South Korean border island.

South Korea’s navy fired warning photographs on Tuesday to push back a North Korean patrol vessel that briefly crossed the so-called Northern Restrict Line whereas pursuing the boat close to Baekryeong island.

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The seven crew members instructed South Korean army officers they drifted south of the boundary due to navigation errors and mechanical issues and expressed a need to return to North Korea, South Korea’s Protection Ministry stated.

South Korea’s navy has typically fired warning photographs to repel North Korean vessels crossing the international locations’ poorly marked sea border, however there even have been some lethal clashes through the years. South Korea blamed North Korea for an assault on a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors in 2010, however the North has denied duty.

South Korea has patrolled waters across the Northern Restrict Line for many years after it was drawn up by the U.N. command on the finish of the 1950-53 Korean Conflict. North Korea doesn’t acknowledge the road and insists upon a boundary that encroaches deeply into waters presently managed by the South.