The Unification Ministry says it will send home on Wednesday six North Korean sailors rescued by South Korean Coast Guard officials in the East Sea last weekend.
 
A ministry official said Tuesday that the rescued crewmembers are in good health and have expressed wishes to return home. 
 
The official said the North Koreans will be handed over to the North around nine a.m. Wednesday at the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, in the East Sea.
 
The official said that the Unification Ministry sought to inform the North over the planned transfer through a communication channel in the truce village of Panmunjeom and a military communication line but that the North didn’t reply.
 
The official said if the North fails to reply, the ministry will inform the North of the repatriation via the UN Command Military Armistice Commission later on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Last Saturday, South Korean authorities rescued six shipwrecked sailors aboard two North Korean ships in the East Sea.
 
One of the ships was scrapped as it was damaged beyond repair. The remaining boat will be repaired and used to repatriate the six sailors.

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