Six South Koreans detained in the North on illegal entry charges will be released to return home on Friday - a move that might demonstrate Pyongyang's willingness to ease tensions between borders.
The DPRK also has announced that it will allow a group of South Korean legislators to visit an industrial park owned by both countries, which have been in a deadlock since the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
The six men were transferred into the custody of South Korean authorities in the border town of Panmunjom, according to a statement from Seoul's Unification Ministry obtained by the New York Times.
Not much information has been released about the six past their last names and ages, reported to be between 27 and 67. The Ministry told the Times that they'd planned extensive interviews with the men to ascertain how and when they first entered North Korean territory.
In order for a South Korean citizen to travel to the North, they must gain permission from the government under the South's National Security Act.
Over the past 20 years, about 25,000 North Koreans have fled to the South, seeking freedom from governmental repression and hunger in Pyongyang. South Koreans have defected to the North as well, to escape legal, financial or marital issues at home. Since 2010, officials in the North have reported holding South Koreans who allegedly entered the North illegally.
But some experts wager the North might be trying to ease tensions by returning the group of six while allowing lawmaker Kim Sung Gon into the Gaesong industrial park.
The trip would be the first by a South Korean member of the opposition Democratic Party since 2011. According to Bloomberg, South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl Jae said that this was a welcome gesture, especially after the North's cancellation of reunions for families separated by the Korean War.
"We hope the visit can provide momentum for the two countries to jump-start their efforts to reconcile," Kim stated. "We'd also like to see what difficulties South Korean companies face after the park reopened."
