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DPRK says it will free 4 ROK fishermen

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-28 22:01

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday it will free four  fishermen from the Republic of Korea (ROK) detained last month after their boat accidentally strayed into northern waters - Pyongyang's latest conciliatory gesture toward the ROK.

Kim Young-chol (L), general secretary of Red Cross of the Republic of Korea (ROK), shakes hands with Choi Song-ik, vice chairman of the central committee of the Red Cross of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), during their meeting in Mountain Gumgang area in the DPRK, on August 28, 2009.  South Korea and the DPRK began talks for the reunion of separated families in Mount Gumgang area on Wednesday, local media said. [Xinhua]

The fishermen and their boat will be handed over to the ROK authorities across the eastern sea border at 5 pm (0800 GMT) Saturday, said Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung.

"I am very pleased and it's beyond expression," Lee Ah-na, the wife of the boat's captain, said from the eastern port of Geojin, just south of the border.

The announcement came hours after the two Koreas agreed to hold a new round of reunions next month for families separated by the Korean War - the first in nearly two years.

Related readings:  DPRK and ROK discuss reuniting divided families  US rules out plan to send envoys to DPRK  Report: DPRK invites Obama's top envoys  ROK, DPRK to hold family reunion talks  US, ROK to keep enforcing DPRK sanctions

Red Cross officials from the two sides wrapped up three days of talks at the DPRK's scenic Diamond Mountain resort with an accord to hold six days of temporary reunions involving 200 families from September 26, according to a joint statement.

Millions of families were separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. No mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

This week's rare talks and the resulting agreement were the latest signs of improving relations between the rival nations. The agreement said the DPRK and the ROK will continue to discuss separated families and other humanitarian issues.

Pyongyang has reached out in recent weeks to Seoul and Washington following a series of provocations, including nuclear and missile tests, and international sanctions to punish the DPRK for the defiant moves banned under UN resolutions.

Earlier this month, the DPRK freed two American journalists and a ROK worker after more than four months of detention and pledged to restart some joint projects, including the meetings of separated families that have been stalled since the inauguration of a conservative government in Seoul 18 months ago.

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