SEOUL -?The foreign ministry of the Republic of Korea (ROK)?said Wednesday that it had repatriated 10 fishermen from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), who were rescued Sunday from their boat drifting in eastern South Korean waters.

The boat drifted in the ROK's eastern waters near the pair of islets called Dokdo here (also known as Takeshima in Japan), on Nov 23. The boat's engine had glitches and the vessel was towed by the ROK's patrol ship sailing near the islets.

Ten fishermen on board the fishing boat were all returned back to the DPRK earlier in the day as they expressed their desire to go back to their country.

The two Koreas have returned civilians who accidentally land in each other's territory in a humanitarian move.