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Four would-be N. Korean defectors in Japan likely to come to S. Korea; FM
By Byun Duk-kun
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Four would-be North Korean defectors who drifted to Japan abroad a small wooden boat may likely to be allowed to come to South Korea as they wish, South Korea's foreign minister said Sunday.
The North Koreans, believed to be a couple and their two sons, arrived at Japan's Aomori Prefecture on Saturday after their boat measuring 7-8 meters in length drifted across the East Sea. They reportedly told Japanese investigators that they want to live in South Korea.
"Based on humanitarian principles, the North Koreans will be treated according to their wishes," South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon told reporters through his spokesman, Cho Hee-yong.
Song disclosed the South Korean position just before he was to meet his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, in this South Korean resort island, for talks on wide-ranging subjects, including stalled six-nation efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Song also plans to meet individually with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Jeju later in the day before holding a group meeting with Yang and Aso.
North Korean defections by way of Japan are rare. Most North Korean defectors come to South Korea via China. The inter-Korean land border is sealed, with nearly 2 million troops deployed on both sides.
It is the second time that North Korean have arrived in Japan for defection to South Korea. In 1987, a group of 11 North Koreans arrived at Japan's Fukui aboard a small wooden boat. They were later allowed to defect to South Korea via Taiwan.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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