North Korea to free fishermen after month in captivity
SEOUL | Mon Sep 6, 2010 3:38am EDT
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday it was releasing the seven-man crew of a South Korean fishing boat, including three Chinese, a month after they illegally entered its waters. State news agency KCNA said the crew would be sent back to South Korea "taking into consideration the fact that they admitted the seriousness of their act and gave assurances that they would never repeat such an act."
Tensions have mounted on the peninsula this year after the sinking of a South Korean warship -- Seoul says it was sunk by a North Korean torpedo -- and a series of military drills by the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang said the boat was intercepted on August 8 while fishing in waters off its east coast.
The North's Red Cross said the vessel and the crew would be handed over at 0700 GMT on Tuesday at a sea border off the east coast. In June, Beijing took a public swipe at Pyongyang after North Korean border guards shot and killed three Chinese suspected of smuggling and wounded a fourth. North Korea apologized and told China it would punish those responsible.
China had voiced concern about the detention of its nationals by the North, which depends heavily on Beijing's largesse to keep its impoverished economy afloat. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made a surprise visit to China last week to reassure Beijing, whose help and diplomatic muscle he needs as much as ever to support a dynastic succession.
The decision to release the crew comes as the North gears up for the biggest meeting of its ruling Workers' Party in 30 years this week, possibly to anoint Kim's youngest son as successor. The North has not responded to an offer by the South to ship emergency relief in the aftermath of heavy rains that flooded farmland and homes.
(Reporting by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
