4 NK Defectors Fly in Seoul From Japan

A family of four North Korean defectors in Japan flew in the South Saturday after being granted departure by Japanese authorities.

A couple and their two adult sons arrived at Incheon International Airport just west of Seoul, the capital, at 11:50 a.m. The family had departed from Tokyo's Narita International Airport earlier in the day.

The four fled North Korea and reached northern Japan on June 2 after a six-day voyage on a wooden boat. They told Japanese authorities that they wanted to go to South Korea and that their motive for escape was extreme poverty in the communist homeland.

On Tuesday, the family met with officials at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo and delivered their wish to go to South Korea.

The four sailed to Aomori's Fukuora Port in an open boat after crossing the East Sea. They were then transferred to an immigration facility on June 6 in Ibaraki Prefecture and granted provisional entry to Japan.

It was the second time North Koreans arrived in Japan for defection to South Korea.

In 1987, a group of 11 North Koreans arrived at Japan's Fukui aboard a small wooden boat. They were later allowed to defect to South Korea via Taiwan.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled their country's poverty and repression.