Seoul, September 08: North Korea Wednesday returned a South Korean fishing boat seized a month ago and requested flood aid from its neighbour, in an apparent easing of tensions after months of hostility.
The squid fishing boat and seven crew — four South Koreans and three Chinese — crossed the east coast sea border en route to its home port, the South’s coastguard said.
The North announced yesterday it would return the 41-tonne boat, seized on August 8 for allegedly trespassing in an exclusive economic zone, as a “humanitarian” gesture.
Seoul’s unification ministry said separately the North had asked for rice, cement and heavy construction equipment in response to an offer by the South’s Red Cross to provide flood relief aid worth USD 8.3 million.
“If the South is to send flood aid, it will be better that resources and equipment needed for recovery from flood damage be sent along with rice,” the ministry quoted the North’s message received last Saturday as saying.
Spokesman Chun Hae-Sung said Seoul was considering the request.
Cross-border relations have been icy since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing of one its warships in March, killing 46 people. The North denies the charge.
—Agencies