NEW FINDINGS ON VESSEL INCIDENT

[Anchor Lead]

Now yesterday's report of government findings revealed new facts. North Koreans were waiting to get arrested by South Korean law enforcement on the seawall of Samcheok Port, but nobody paid attention. The South Korean government concluded that the North Korean sailors did not come for espionage or terrorism.

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A small wooden boat carrying four North Korean sailors enter Samcheok Port. They anchor the boat before disembarking and wandering around the embankment. According to the joint government investigators, they were apparently waiting to get arrested by the South Korean military or law enforcement.

[Soundbite] CHOI BYUNG-HWAN(1ST VICE MINISTER, OFFICE FOR GOV'T POLICY COORDINATION) : "One North Korean waited in the boat while three came up to the seawall to get arrested."

When they realized there were only five or six fishermen and no police officers, the defecting captain urged another sailor to borrow a phone and call his aunt. So, the sailor approached a South Korean man nearby to ask if he could make a call to his aunt in Seoul. When asked where he's from, the sailor answered, "I'm from North Korea." The South Korean resident who talked with them called the police to report the presence of a North Korean boat in Samcheok Port. This was 30 minutes after the boat docked at the pier. South Korean authorities also verified why the North Koreans had lied to the Coast Guard officers first at the scene that they had been adrift at sea due to an engine failure. The sailors had agreed to lie ahead of time, because they feared that admitting to defection could get their families in North Korea in trouble. The South Korean government concluded that they did not cross over for espionage purposes. Two of the sailors were wearing military uniforms, but one said it belonged to his friend and the other said the outfit was from the days when he served in the military. Also, the engine power output of their boat was only 28 horsepower, far weaker than the 200 to 300 horsepower generated by spy ships. Judging by the sailors' physical appearance, they did not receive special training. No weapons or spy communication devices were found.

[Soundbite] CHOI BYUNG-HWAN(1ST VICE MINISTER, OFFICE FOR GOV'T POLICY COORDINATION) : "Judging by these facts, we concluded that they were not North Korean spies or terrorists."

The South Korean government reported that two sailors were allowed to return to North Korea as they were cleared of espionage or terrorism suspicions after three rounds of interrogations lasting over seven hours.