South Korea said its Red Cross sent North Korea on Friday another message calling for the release of the crew of a fishing boat that Pyongyang is holding amid high tension between the divided states.
The 41-ton South Korean boat Daeseung was carrying four South Koreans and three Chinese fishermen when it disappeared Aug. 8 while apparently operating in a joint fishing area in the East Sea.
Pyongyang confirmed Thursday it is holding the crew for questioning and claiming the squid fishing boat trespassed into its exclusive economic zone. The seizure came amid high military tensions between the Koreas over the
deadly sinking of a South Korean warship near their western sea border in March.
"As the North has notified us of its seizure of the Daeseung, our Red Cross just now sent another message to North Korea at 10:00 a.m." through a western military hotline, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said in a briefing.
The Red Cross, which works closely with the South Korean government on humanitarian issues involving the divided states, had already sent a similar message on Aug. 11. No reply has been received.
Lee said her government calls "for the prompt return of our boat and the crew by the North" as stated in the latest Red Cross message, addressed to the head of its North Korean counterpart. The South has been calling for the release of the crew "on humanitarian grounds and in line with international customs and law."
North Korean authorities received the message when it arrived on their side shortly after 10:00 a.m., Lee added.
South Korean officials said the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang also urged the release of the crew by contacting the North's Foreign Ministry following
the seizure.
In July last year, a South Korean fishing boat, the Yeonan, accidentally crossed into North Korea's waters and was towed to a nearby port. The boat was released about a month later.