Eleven North Koreans defected to South Korea by sea on Thursday, arriving on the southeastern coast. A government official said nine adults and two children crossed the Northern Limit Line in a small fishing boat in the East Sea and sought asylum at around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.They are under investigation by military, police and intelligence officials.
Intelligence services said a South Korean military radar base detected the boat approaching at 3:48 p.m. and notified maritime police. Two patrol boats and a Navy ship approached the boat and were told by the North Koreans that they wished to defect. The eleven were brought to the port city of Jumunjin in Gangwon Province.
A government source said, "The North Koreans apparently took a long way round in order to avoid being caught by North Korean maritime police. They said they left Gimchaek Port in North Hamgyong Province and went as far as 234 km east off Geojin, Gangwon Province." He said nine out of 11 seem to be members of one family.