Twenty-seven North Koreans were repatriated by sea Sunday, 50 days after their boat had drifted across the western border into South Korean waters, officials said, dpa reported.
The group was among 11 men and 20 women who had crossed the sea boundary on February 5. They had reportedly asked to be repatriated, while the remaining four expressed hope to stay in the South, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The 27 North Koreans were taken by two coast guard ships from a military base in Incheon, west of Seoul, and transferred to their 5-ton wooden vessel.
After the boat had crossed the de facto maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea, it was guided by a North Korean military ship, according to officials.
Diplomatic efforts produced an agreement for the repatriation to take place on March 17, but it was delayed due to a mechanical problem on the wooden vessel and bad weather.
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