South Korea Sends Back Six North Koreans Who Asked To Return

South Korea has sent six North Korean nationals back to their country after they unintentionally entered South Korean territory earlier this year. Officials explained that all six individuals had consistently communicated a “strong desire” to return home.

Two of the individuals had crossed into the South’s waters in March and remained for four months, marking the longest known stay by non-defectors in recent history.

The remaining four were fishermen who mistakenly crossed the contested sea boundary between the two nations in May.

This repatriation marks the first of its kind since President Lee Jae-myung assumed office, having previously emphasized the importance of renewing inter-Korean engagement. Authorities on both sides reportedly faced delays in coordinating the return, despite ongoing efforts over several months.

Cases of North Korean vessels unintentionally veering south are not new. Such incidents are often linked to the use of small, manually operated boats that are difficult to redirect once they drift off course.

Previously, returns like these were arranged via the shared land border, requiring both governments to communicate. However, that coordination channel collapsed in April 2023 when North Korea severed all inter-Korean contact amid escalating hostilities.

Eight months following that communication breakdown, the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, publicly declared that reunification between the two Koreas was no longer a goal.

Currently, the only functioning methods of contact between North and South involve intermediaries like the United Nations Command or limited interactions through the media.

According to South Korean officials, they attempted twice to relay their intent to return the six individuals using UN Command communication pathways. However, they did not receive any formal acknowledgment from the North.

On the day of the handover, North Korean patrol ships and fishing boats appeared at the site, prompting speculation that some form of informal coordination had occurred “behind the scenes.”

“If you set a boat adrift in the vast ocean without any co-ordination, there’s a real risk it could drift away again,” says Nam Sung-wook, the former head of the Korea National Strategy Institute think tank.

Nam also noted that once back in North Korea, the individuals are likely to undergo intense scrutiny.

“They’ll be grilled on whether they received any espionage training or overheard anything sensitive. [It will be] an intense process aimed at extracting every last piece of information,” he says.

Following their interrogation, they might be recruited to promote the state’s narrative. Their willingness to return “strengthens the legitimacy of [Kim’s] regime”, adds Lim Eul-chul, a professor specialising in North studies in Kyungnam University.

Michael Madden, a researcher focused on North Korean affairs, pointed out that the events occurred while South Korea was under temporary leadership due to the impeachment of the former president.

“This may have delayed some decision making in both Koreas.

“Pyongyang certainly did not trust the Yoon remnants in South Korea, and both Koreas could have been open to accusations of an unlawful repatriation out of political expedience by the international community,” he said.

These returns have raised concerns among some North Korean defectors living in the South.

Activist Lee Min-bok says the six people “should have been given a chance to talk to defectors and learn more about South Korean society”.

“If I’d had the chance to speak with them, I would have told them the truth [about inter-Korean history] and warned them that they could eventually face punishment from the North Korean regime, simply because they had already experienced life in the South,” says Mr Lee, who used to float balloons with anti-Kim leaflets into the North.

But many activists are anticipating tighter restrictions under the current administration, which favors greater engagement with Pyongyang.

Lawmakers in Seoul are currently reviewing legislation that would prohibit sending information across the border using balloons.

Since taking office in June, President Lee has promised to revive talks with the North and ease hostilities. Shortly after assuming power, South Korea’s military halted its use of loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda toward the North, calling it a gesture to “restore trust in inter-Korean relations and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula”.

Still, several experts remain skeptical about the possibility of renewed cooperation between the two sides.

North Korea has “built up solid co-operation” with Russia, and now has “little need” to engage the South, says Celeste Arrington, director of The George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies.

She also noted that many South Koreans currently show limited interest in reconnecting with the North.

“Thus, there are few signals, if any, of North Korea wanting to re-establish lines of communication with the South, let alone a desire for meaningful warming of relations.”