8 Koreans to Be Brought Back From US Prisons

South Korea has decided to take back eight South Korean prisoners currently jailed in the United States to allow them to serve out their remaining prison terms in their homeland, Yonhap News reported quoting a South Korean diplomat in Washington Saturday.

The Seoul government informed the U.S. Department of Justice of its decision last month, according to the diplomat.

The prisoners are among 40 South Korean citizens held in U.S. prisons who say they wish to be relocated to South Korea, citing language, food and cultural differences, the diplomat said.

"It is highly likely that they will be sent back to South Korea, although the U.S. federal government and state governments involved must make the final decision," he was quoted as saying.

South Korea has so far received only one South Korean prisoner from the U.S. since 2005, when it joined the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons to bring back South Korean citizens serving in prisons abroad and to extradite foreign nationals in South Korean prisons.

About 1,400 South Koreans are imprisoned abroad, including 200 in the United States.