By Kim Young-jin
Seoul delayed the repatriation of 27 North Koreans, who drifted into southern waters last month, due to a malfunction on the boat they were planned to return aboard, Thursday.
The South notified the North about the delay of the repatriation, slated for later that day, through Red Cross channels, the unification ministry said.
“The boat’s engine is broken and needs to be replaced,” an official said under the customary condition of anonymity. “We’ll announce the date of their departure once it’s been determined.”
The 27 are part of the 31 North Koreans ― 11 men and 20 women ― who drifted in the five-ton wooden boat across the West Sea border Feb. 5 while on a fishing trip. The remaining four have decided to defect to the South.
On Wednesday, the North agreed to repatriate the 27, retracting its earlier stance that it would only accept the entire group and ending more than a week of wrangling.
Pyongyang accused the South of coercing the four to defect, a claim Seoul flatly denies. It also made public letters and videos in which apparent family members of the defectors appealed for them to come home.
“The delay is only because of the engine malfunctioning and nothing else,” the official said, dismissing any speculation that it was due to new defector bids emerging.
Initially, the entire group had expressed their desire to return, but the four later changed their minds, sparking the back-and-forth between the sides.
The four defectors ― two men and two women ― have begun the process of becoming South Korean citizens, the ministry said.
Tensions have remained high on the peninsula since November last year, when the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people including two civilians.