N.KOREAN VESSEL CONTROVERSY

[Anchor Lead]

Controversy surrounding a North Korean vessel that has been recently found in Gangwon-do Province, continues to escalate. The speculation raised by KBS two days ago that the North Korean boat anchored at the South Korean port of Samcheok, has been confirmed to be true. We have also found that the boat remained at the port for about half an hour undeterred.

[Pkg]

A small boat was spotted at Samcheok Pork in Gangwon-do Province at around 6:20 a.m. on June 15. It was a wooden vessel with four North Koreans on board. Undeterred, the boat slowly entered the port. It docked right at the center of the pier where South Korean fishing boats are usually anchored. Moments later, two North Koreans disembarked from the boat and began to roam the port. Police received a report about strangers speaking a foreign dialect at around 6:50 a.m., about half an hour after the boat arrived. The North Koreans even chatted with locals at the port. Sources say some of the local fishermen noticed the sailing boat when they were leaving the port early in the morning. The authorities' report that the boat was drifting due to a broken engine was found to be inaccurate. It was confirmed later that the boat sailed toward the port and anchored there using its own engine.

[Soundbite] (FISHERMAN AT SAMCHEOK PORT(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "It would be impossible to enter the port like that with a broken engine. The speed was quite high for a boat with a broken engine."

The military authorities have come under fire for their late response, as a military truck carrying armed troops arrived long after the Coast Guard towed the North Korean boat from the port. In a public apology issued on Thursday morning, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo vowed to investigate any false reports or concealment of facts that might have occurred when handling the incident.