DPRK urges talk with ROK over detained fishermen
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Pyongyang on Friday urged Seoul to respond to proposed talks over four DPRK fishermen detained in the South, the official KCNA news agency reported.
According to the KCNA, the chairman of the Central Committee of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) sent a notice to the president of the South Korean Red Cross, expressing regret over the South's refusal to a Wednesday proposal of a Red Cross working contact dedicated to the issue of the four DPRK citizens.
On Feb. 5, a total of 31 DPRK fishermen became lost in thick fog when fishing at sea, and mistakenly drifted into South Korean waters.
After being detained by South Korean authorities for more than a month, 27 were sent home on March 27. But Seoul said the remaining four had "defected" and would not return.
"The irrefutable fact" that South Korea persistently conducted "operation for defection" among the DPRK citizens has been disclosed by those who returned home, the KCNA quoted the notice as saying.
If the "defection" of the four was made at their "own will," it would be unreasonable to deny the north side's confirmation through face-to-face meeting, the notice said.
The north side would recognize that the four citizens had been "abducted through appeasement" if South Korea still rejects a face-to-face meeting with the four detained, the notice said, adding "Such attitude will seriously affect the north-south relations."
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