DPRK sailors to return home after rescued by S.Korean coast guard

Five sailors of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will return home after being rescued by South Korean coast guard earlier this week, Seoul's unification ministry said Wednesday.

Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a press briefing that the coast guard had rescued five DPRK crewmen early Monday abroad a ship drifting along in the South Korean eastern waters.

The DPRK ship went adrift because of the malfunctioning of its engine. All of the seamen wanted to return home, the spokesman said. Under the seamen's agreement, the ship was disposed of as it was too old to repair.

South Korea planned to notify the DPRK of its schedule to send the DPRK sailors to their home country Thursday through Panmunjom. Endit