By Rachel Lee



North Korea Friday released a South Korean boat it captured six days ago for "humanitarian reasons" after the vessel allegedly sailed into the North's waters illegally.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported in the morning that the boat, 391 Hungjin, and its crew would be repatriated through a designated military water boundary in the East Sea at 6 p.m. Pyongyang time, or 5:30 p.m. Seoul time.

The state media said an investigation proved the vessel "deliberately" entered North Korean waters for fishing, but the country made the decision from a humanitarian standpoint as the crew "apologized for their offense repeatedly, asking for leniency."

South Korea's Ministry of Unification confirmed seven Korean sailors out of 10 in total were on board.

"Government authorities have found out that there were seven South Koreans and three Vietnamese on the boat," a ministry official said.

The vessel left an Ulleung Island port, Oct. 16, the official said. He said the Coast Guard started searching for the boat, Oct. 21, after losing contact with it, Oct. 20. But the Coast Guard and other fishing-related authorities did not make news of the missing boat public until the North Korean announcement.

"We'll question the crew to confirm how the boat sailed into the North Korean waters," the official said.

North Korea has captured South Korean boats and crew for violating the sea border and released them in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010. In the latest case in August, 2010, North Korea released a fishing boat after a 30-day detention.

A government official said Pyongyang handled the repatriation in a short period of time in this case, considering that it took nearly one month for North Korea to release captured boats and crew in the 2009 and 2010 cases.

Experts say the North's announcement to release the South Korean vessel could be a sign that it cares about the current situation with heightened tension in the region.

"This action could indicate that North Korea had two strategic purposes _ appealing to the international community that the country does not neglect human rights, while trying not to cause unnecessary conflict on the Korean Peninsula," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

It could also be a sign that the situation on the Korean Peninsula could be easing, said Koh Yoo-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University. "Such swift action to release the vessel will not bring fundamental changes in the relations between the two Koreas, but it seems the North does not want to damage a situation that could open up the possibilities for dialogue."