N. Korean military says investigation of S. Korean fishermen underway

(ATTN: COMBINES with story slugged "NK-seized fishermen"; RECASTS lead, ADDS quotes)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military told South Korea on Friday that
the fishermen who were seized aboard a stray boat will be dealt with according to
the results of an ongoing investigation, Seoul officials said.

The faxed message was the first written response from the North over the
squid-fishing boat that was towed with four crewmen aboard to an eastern port in
the communist country the previous day. Pyongyang earlier said via a phone
channel that an inquiry was underway.
"A pertinent organization is conducting a concrete investigation regarding the
ship Yeonanho 800," the Unification Ministry quoted the North Korean message as
saying.
The message, sent by an unidentified military official in charge of the East Sea
district, did not address the fate of the crew, only saying their case "will be
dealt with according to the investigation results," the ministry said in a press
release.
The 29-ton boat appeared to have accidentally crossed the Northern Limit Line, a
de-facto inter-Korean maritime border in the East Sea, and was hauled away by a
North Korean patrol vessel 13km off the border, officials said. They suspect the
boat either did not have a satellite navigation device or it had malfunctioned.
The message from North Korea's military was unusual as previous cases were
handled through Red Cross channels. Pyongyang severed the contact channel in
November to protest South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's hardline policy toward
the North.
A ministry official, requesting anonymity, said the message, considered prompt by
North Korean standards, "doesn't appear to be a bad sign."
Fishing boats often stray across the other side of the border and are routinely
released on humanitarian grounds after a brief inquiry. But the latest case has
raised concern in Seoul as inter-Korean relations have hit their lowest level in
a decade.
Some fear that North Korea may try to use the boat seizure to increase pressure
on the conservative Lee government, as it has done with the case of a South
Korean worker detained at a joint industrial park in the North. Identified only
by his family name Yu, the worker has been held incommunicado for four months
after he was taken custody on accusations of insulting the North's political
system.
Thursday's seizure was the first such case among fishermen since Lee took office
last year.
Chang Yong-seok, an expert with the non-governmental Institute for Peace Affairs
in Seoul, said he believes the fax message from the military is part of "normal
procedure, rather than a negative sign," because the sea border is under the
jurisdiction of the navy. He also noted Pyongyang's recent shift from provocative
behavior to gestures of dialogue toward Washington.
"There is always a possibility that North Korea may try to abuse a case like
this, but generally, it has been trying to settle external issues these days,"
Chang said.
Just hours after the boat was hauled away, a North Korean fishing boat ventured
12.9km into South Korean waters off the west coast. South Korean authorities
allowed a North Korean patrol boat to cross the border and tow it back home.
On Friday, South Korea approved a humanitarian aid visit to North Korea for the
first time since the North's nuclear test in May. An eight-member group from
World Vision will provide technical expertise and equipment for North Korean
potato seedling farms during an eight-day trip starting Saturday.
hkim@yna.co.kr