The South Korean military handed over seven North Koreans to the DPRK at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Seoul’s defense ministry, after their fishing vessel crossed into South Korean waters the previous day due to a mechanical problem and “route error.”

The handover took place near the Northern Limit Line demarcating the two Koreas’ disputed west coast sea border, with all the crew members reportedly expressing a desire to return to North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense said.

The latest development comes after a North Korean patrol boat crossed the inter-Korean maritime border in pursuit of a DPRK