A South Korean fishing vessel recently released by North Korea after brief detention was found to have caught three-and-a-half tons of blowfish in North Korean waters during a three-day-long intentional infiltration of the maritime border. 

On Friday, the Pohang Coast Guard announced the result of its probe into the "391 Heungjin” and its ten crew members about a month after the North repatriated them to the South.

According to the investigation, the boat departed from Ulleung Island in the East Sea on October 16th toward the "intermediate waters," the area where the exclusive economic zones of South Korea and Japan overlap. As fishing in that area proved unproductive, the ship headed northwest on October 18th, sailing about 80 kilometers into North Korean waters where it fished for three days.

During the vessel's stay in North Korean waters, its skipper falsely reported to the South Korean authorities that the boat was operating in the intermediate waters near Ulleung Island.

It saw an approaching North Korean patrol ship at just past midnight on October 21st and attempted to get away, but was seized an hour later. 

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