4 N. Korean defectors in Japan Likely to Come to Seoul

Four North Koreans who drifted to Japan abroad a small wooden boat are likely to be allowed to come to Seoul, news reports said.

"Based on humanitarian principles, the North Koreans will be treated according to their wishes," Foreign Minister Song told reporters through his spokesman, Cho Hee-yong, on Jeju Island Sunday, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Song disclosed the South Korean position just before he was to meet his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, in this resort island, for talks on wide-ranging subjects, including stalled six-nation efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Yonhap said.

Believed to be a couple and their two sons, the North Koreans arrived at a port in Japan's Aomori Prefecture early Saturday after their 7-8-meter-long boat drifted across the East Sea. They reportedly told Japanese investigators that they want to live in South Korea.

North Korean defections by way of Japan are rare. Most North Korean defectors come to South Korea via China. The inter-Korean land border is sealed, with nearly 2 million troops deployed on both sides.