South Korea will return all three crew members of a North Korean fishing boat that crossed the inter-Korean maritime border into the South according to their wishes.

The Unification Ministry said Monday that it notified the North of the repatriation decision at around 8:20 a.m., and the boat and its crew left for the sea border. They are expected to cross into the North on Monday afternoon. 

The ministry said an investigation by related agencies found no suspicious points and the crew members expressed a desire to return home. 

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said on Sunday that the ten-meter-long wooden boat crossed the eastern sea border on Saturday night and was taken to a South Korean port for investigation on Sunday morning. 

South Korea usually drives away fishing boats that enter its waters by mistake, but the wooden ship appeared to be a vessel operated by North Korea's military and one crew member was wearing a military uniform. 

The crewmen claimed their boat had crossed the NLL due to a navigation error.