What You Need To Know:
Four North Koreans were found in a small wooden boat in South Korean waters on Tuesday, Seoul officials said.
A South Korean coast guard ship found the boat south of the North and South Korean eastern sea border on Tuesday morning, after a report by a fishing boat.
South Korea’s military said it took the North Koreans into custody with the coast guard.
The Details:
Local South Korean media interviewed the fisherman who first found and reported the North Korean vessel.
The South Korean fisherman said he came across a man, dressed in sailor-style clothing, a women who appeared to be in her 20s or 30s, and another woman in her 40s or 50s.
The South Korean fisherman claimed he gave the North Korean man a cigarette before questioning them on how they made their escape.
Apparently, the North Koreans embarked on their voyage the day they were found by the fisherman.
More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the late 1990s. Most of them go overland through China to start their journey. Defecting by sea is uncommon.