NKorea seizes SKorean fishing boat

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea seized a fishing boat from the South on Thursday after it accidentally strayed into the North's waters, officials said, amid tensions on the peninsula over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

Seoul asked the North to quickly release the fishing boat and the four crew members, a Unification Ministry spokeswoman said.

Early Thursday morning, a North Korean patrol boat took the 29-ton vessel "800 Yeonan" into custody after it crossed into the North's eastern waters - apparently because its satellite navigation system malfunctioned, an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the boat was taken to North Korea's eastern port of Jangjon.

The Unification Ministry, which is responsible for handling relations with the North, made a formal written request to North Korean maritime authorities asking for the boat's release, spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.

North Korea confirmed it had received the request and said by telephone that it would look into the matter, Lee said. North Korea's state news agency, monitored in Seoul, did not mention the seizure.

Relations between the two Koreas deteriorated last year after a pro-U.S., conservative government took office in Seoul, advocating a tougher policy on the North. In retaliation, Pyongyang cut off ties and halted all major joint projects except a joint industrial complex located just across the border in North Korea.

The North has been holding a South Korean worker at the complex since March for allegedly denouncing its political system. South Korea has repeatedly demanded his release, but so far the North has not allowed Seoul officials any access to him.

Two South Korean fishing boats accidentally crossed into North Korea in 2005 and 2006, respectively, before North Korea later released the ships and their crews on humanitarian grounds, said Lee.