A North Korean fisherman has been rescued while drifting in South Korean waters, and is scheduled to be sent to his homeland this week, the Seoul government said Monday.

The South's coast guard rescued the North Korean citizen on Friday when his 72-ton trawler was drifting in the East Sea near the small islets of Dokdo, according to the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.

The ship had gone adrift from a North Korean port in South Hamkyong Province after the anchor rope that held the vessel snapped due to an unidentified reason, the ministry noted. 

As the fisherman in his 20s aboard the ship expressed his wish to return home, the government plans to repatriate him to the North on Tuesday.

"We sent a message today via the liaison channel at the truce village of Panmunjom to notify the North of the repatriation plan," a ministry official said.

It is not unusual for North Korean fishermen to be picked up here from boats drifting in South Korean waters. Despite tensions, the two Koreas have a practice of repatriating civilians who accidentally land in each other's territory in a humanitarian move.

In November, 10 North Korean fishermen were rescued in the East Sea and handed over to their communist homeland. (Yonhap)