Seoul: The U.N. Command (UNC) has reached out to North Korea several times and is currently awaiting a response concerning the repatriation of two North Korean individuals discovered aboard a drifting boat in the Yellow Sea last month, according to Seoul's Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister Kim made these comments during a session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. The two North Korean men were taken into South Korean custody after their boat was found in waters south of the de facto inter-Korean maritime border on March 7. Kim emphasized the UNC's efforts, stating, "The U.N. Command is waiting for North Korea's response agreeing to the repatriation. We are working to swiftly and safely repatriate them on humanitarian grounds."
The UNC, responsible for overseeing the cease-fire that concluded the 1950-53 Korean War, has taken the initiative to contact North Korea as all direct communication channels between the Koreas remain severed.