Seoul rejects talks on boat defectors

By Kim Young-jin

Seoul Friday rejected a proposal by Pyongyang for Red Cross talks to discuss the case of four North Korean defectors who drifted into southern waters earlier this year.

Their boat crossed the maritime border in February with 27 others on board, who expressed a desire to return to the North. Pyongyang has accused the South of coercing the four to defect.

"We’re not considering repatriating (the four) at all" Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters, adding Seoul is willing to help the North confirm that the defections decisions of their own free will.

Pyongyang’s proposal for the talks came a day after it again accused Seoul of kidnapping the 31.

At a press conference Thursday, 10 of the repatriated North Koreans said they had been held in the South against their will, Pyongyang’s state media said. Officials here have dismissed such claims as groundless.

Chun said there was no reason for the talks as the case was handled according to the four defectors’ wishes and by observing humanitarian principles.

Tensions have remained high on the peninsula since November last year, when the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people including two civilians.