A North Korean vessel and its personnel that crossed the inter-Korean maritime border on Tuesday were repatriated to North Korea on Wednesday.

South Korea's defense ministry said in a notice on Wednesday that the boat had crossed the Northern Limit Line(NLL) on Tuesday due to a navigational error and mechanical glitch, and that its sailors all wished to return to the North.

The ministry added that they were handed over to North Korea at around 2 p.m. near the NLL.

The ten-meter-long boat, with seven unarmed passengers on board, had crossed the NLL on Tuesday morning near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea.

In the process, a North Korean patrol boat that had been chasing the vessel also crossed the maritime border, but retreated after a South Korean naval patrol boat fired warning shots.

[Photo : KBS News]