NKoreans accuse South of kidnapping, beatings

[April 21, 2011]  PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- Weeping and shaking their fists, ten North Koreans say they were beaten and pressured to defect after South Korea raided their fishing boat and detained them earlier this year.

The men and women released by the South last month spoke publicly for the first time at a rare news conference in Pyongyang on Thursday attended by The Associated Press.

They accused South Korea of kidnapping the 31 people who were on a one-day fishing expedition. They claim four who stayed in the South are being held against their will.

Seoul says the boat strayed into South Korean waters and the four who stayed asked to defect.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung says the claims made Thursday aren't worthy of a response.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.