VIDEO FOOTAGE OF REPATRIATION

[Anchor Lead]

After releasing the photos of the returned North Korean fishermen last week, the Unification Ministry made public the video footage of the 2019 repatriation. The four-minute video shows a North Korean fisherman falling down and digging in his heels in front of the Military demarcation Line. The ministry said it recently found the video and decided to reveal it after legal reviews, as the National Assembly had asked for its submission.

[Pkg]

A North Korean sailor, tied up with a rope, climbs up the stairs of inter-Korean Freedom House. The Ministry of Unification said that despite the blurred image, he can be seen blindfolded. The other fisherman is escorted in by the police. There are big bags and sacks, which look like they belong to the two North Koreans. The ministry explained that they are the fishermen's personal belongings. After staying put in the waiting room on the second floor, the two North Koreans come out of the building one after another, this time without the ropes and blindfolds. As they reach the Military Demarcation Line, one of them falls to the floor and begins crawling towards the building on the right side.

[Soundbite] "Hey, catch him!"

When security guards forced him to stand up and proceeded to hand him over to the North Korean side, the sailor refused to budge forward. Up until the other fisherman is seen coming out of the Freedom House. the video captures roughly a four-minute sequence of the repatriation. Through the video, it is impossible to know whether or not the North Korean fishermen screamed and injured themselves in protest during the handover. The unification ministry explained that a ministry official had filmed the repatriation with a personal mobile phone and stored it in a work computer before sharing it with a handful of officials concerned. After legal reviews, the ministry said the video was taken by an individual so it is not managed as the ministry's official archives. But it has decided to release the video footage, as it was filmed in the process of performing official duties and shared with the officials concerned. The ministry added, therefore, the video is deemed equivalent to a public agency's information. The ministry also said it will present the video footge to the prosecution if requested. The unification ministry stressed the legitimacy of the repatriation in 2019. Three years later, it is now highlighting that the North Korean fishermen were forced to return to the North against their will.