SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has released three Chinese fishermen after questioning them over a maritime scuffle with the coast guard.
Coast guard official Roh Sang-gue said authorities handed the fishermen over to Chinese diplomats at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Saturday.
The coast guard has said that about 50 Chinese fishing boats were illegally fishing in western South Korean waters Dec. 18 when a coast guard ship approached them to try to curb their activities.
Roh has said that one of the boats intentionally hit a larger coast guard ship, apparently to help compatriots sail back to Chinese waters, and then capsized. The scuffle left one fisherman dead and another missing.
