3 drifting DPRK ships rescued by S.Korean coast guard

Three ships of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) drifting along in waters off South Korea's east coast have recently been rescued by South Korean coast guard, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.

Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a press briefing that his country's coast guard discovered three DPRK vessels drifting in exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the east coast for two days through Monday.

The ships, which went adrift on engine malfunction and other defects, carried eight DPRK sailors who have been saved by the South Korean coast guard.

All of the rescued DPRK fishermen expressed will to return back to their home country, while one of the three ships was scrapped in waters as it broke down too seriously to repair.

The South Korean side tried to contact its DPRK counterpart through the truce village of Panmunjom in the inter-Korean land border three times at about 10 a.m. in a bid to discuss when and how to return the DPRK sailors to their home, the spokesman said.

As there was no response via the truce village, South Korea tried to reach its northern neighbor through military communication lines for five minutes from 10:10, but it failed to receive any response, Jeong added.

Inter-Korean communication lines have been cut off by Pyongyang in response to Seoul's unilateral decision to shut down the inter-Korean factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong on Feb. 10.

The shutdown was taken in retaliation for the DPRK's fourth nuclear detonation in January and the launch in February of a long-range rocket. Pyongyang conducted its fifth atomic bomb test in September. Endit