South Korea will repatriate four bodies believed to be those of North Koreans to the North via the Panmunjeom border village at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Seoul's Unification Ministry told reporters Tuesday of this plan and said it needs to verify whether the bodies currently on Ulleung Island can arrive in time, considering weather conditions.

The government contacted North Korea on Friday via the recently reopened border hotline and sent a message indicating plans to repatriate the bodies of four people presumed to be North Korean. 

The message was signed by the South Korean Red Cross chairman and forwarded to the chief of the North Korean Red Cross.

The bodies were found in a small wooden boat adrift in the East Sea near Ulleung Island on January seventh. A South Korean fishing vessel first found the capsized boat and reported it to authorities.

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