SUMMARY: ROK FISHING BOAT AND ENTIRE CREW RETURNED TO SOUTH
KOREA OCTOBER 14 AFTER 46-DAY ABSENCE AND WERE IMMEDIATELY
TAKEN FOR DEBRIEFING BY KCIA. REPRESENTATIVE OF RED CROSS,
WHICH HAD HANDLED MESSAGES TO NORTH DURING CREW'S CONFINEMENT,
AND OTHER ROK OBSERVERS SAW LITTLE LIKELIHOOD OF CHANGE IN NORTH'S
POLICY TOWARD SOUTH. END SUMMARY.
1. SHINJIN-HO #3, SQUID FISHING VESSEL WHICH WAS KIDNAPPED
BY NORTH KOREA (NK) LAST AUGUST 30, RETURNED TO HOME PORT
OF SOK-CH'O OCTOBER 14 WITH ALL 23 MEMBERS OF CREW. VESSEL,
WHICH WAS RELEASED FROM WON-SAN HARBOR ABOUT 1700 OCTOBER 13,
REACHED AREA OF FISHING LIMIT LINE ABOUT 0100 OCTOBER 14 AND
WAS DISCOVERED BY A ROK NAVY PATROL BOAT AT ABOUT 0730. ON
ARRIVAL SOK-CH'O CITY ABOUT 1500, CREW MEMBERS WERE PERMITTED
TO WAVE TO THEIR FAMILIES, RELATIVES AND LOOKERS-ON; THEY THEN
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BOARDED WAITING BUSES (DESTINATION UNDISCLOSED). NEWSPAPER
ACCOUNTS SAID THAT CREW LOOKED "TIRED AND HAGGARD".
2. FISHING BOAT CREW RELEASES HAVE BEEN MADE BEFORE, BUT THIS
ONE IS UNUSUAL IN SEVERAL RESPECTS ACCORDING SOUTH-NORTH
COORDINATING COMMITTEE, KOREAN NATIONAL RED CROSS AND MOFA
SOURCES AS WELL AS OUR OWN RECOLLECTIONS: 1) IT WAS RELATIVELY
QUICK AND CONCILIATORY FROM FIRST SURPRISINGLY FAST NK ANNOUNCE-
MENT OF CAPTURE; 2) NK PRESS CONFERENCE AND STATEMENTS CONTAIN
"NO IRRITATING OR BELLIGERENT REMARKS" ACCORDING MOFA INFORMATION
OFFICER; 3) NKRC SPOKESMAN YI TON-BOK SOMEWHAT DOWNPLAYS OTHER
NEW ELEMENTS (COMMENT: WE DO NOT) AND CLAIMS NEW ELEMENT WAS
IN FACT INVOLVEMENT OF KNRC.
3. AS REGARDS CONCILATORY NATURE NK ACTIONS, ROKG OFFICIALS
ARE OBVIOUSLY INTERESTED IN IT AND PRESS EDITORIALS HAVE IN THE
MAIN EXPRESSED CAUTIOUS RECEPTIVITY TO DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER,
ROKS DO NOT AT PRESENT SEE RELEASE AS INDICATING SHIFT IN NK
POLICY; WHILE BOTH KNRC AND MOFA OFFICIALS THOUGHT RELEASE
MIGHT BE RELATED TO BROADER POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
IN NK, IN WORDS OF ONE INTERPRETER THEY SEE THIS GENERALLY AS
BEING PERIOD FOR NK TO "RETREAT ONE STEP IN ORDER TO ADVANCE
TWO."
4. KNRC, WHICH WAS INTERESTED IN PROMOTING SOUTH-NORTH DIALOGUE,
BECAME INVOLVED WHEN JUST AFTER CAPTURE IT SENT SOFT LINE MESSAGE
TO NORTH ADMITTING ROK BOAT HAD MADE MISTAKE. FORMERLY, IN SIMI-
LAR INCIDENTS, BROADCASTS TO OBTAIN RELEASE WERE MADE BY MINISTER
OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION AND THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT
THIS TIME ACCORDING TO YI TONG BOK, SPOKESMAN FOR SOUTH-NORTH
COORDINATING COMMITTEE. KNRC'S APPROACH WAS USEFUL, YI ADDS,
BECAUSE IT DEPRIVED NORTH OF CHANCE TO MAKE PROPAGANDA. BUT
KNRC MILD APPROACH MAY IN FACT HAVE MET WITH HIGHER LEVEL
ROKG DISFAVOR SINCE IN OUTCOME, TO EVIDENT CHAGRIN OF ITS OFFICERS,
KNRC WAS CUT OUT OF FINAL ACT OF RECEIVING FISHERMEN BY FISHERIES
AUTHORITIES.
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