The North Korean Red Cross has, once again, asked to meet with the four North Koreans who decided to stay in South Korea after their fishing boat drifted across the inter-Korean border last month.

The other 27 North Koreans were repatriated to the North on Sunday.

The North Korean Red Cross sent a message to its South Korean counterpart on Wednesday and proposed a working-level meeting at 10 a.m. next Wednesday at the border truce village Panmunjeom to discuss the repatriation of the four North Koreans.

The North asked to meet with the four people in person to verify their wish to stay in the South.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul says it has told the North that the ministry will respect the free will of the four people. The ministry also pointed out that the North's way of wanting to verify their will is not appropriate. Instead, the ministry announced that it is willing to have their will verified in a fair and objective manner at a venue on the South Korean side.