North Korea said Friday it will repatriate a South Korean boat and its crew in a "humanitarian" step after the vessel had entered the North's waters.

The North's Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean authorities had captured the South Korean fishing boat 391 Hungjin on Saturday, when it "illegally intruded into waters of the East Sea" under North Korean control.

According to the report, the subsequent investigation showed the South Korean crew had "deliberately" entered North Korean waters to fish.

But the North Korean authorities decided to send them home at 6 p.m. Friday, Pyongyang time, or 6:30 p.m. in Seoul.

"The DPRK side decided to repatriate the boat and its crew from the humanitarian point of view, taking into account the fact that all the crewmen honestly admitted their offence, repeatedly apologizing and asking for leniency," the KCNA's English-language report said, referring to the North by its full name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "It will repatriate the boat and its crew at the designated waters of the military boundary line in the East Sea."

South Korea's Ministry of Unification confirmed the fishing boat went missing last week, with 10 sailors on board. 

"Government authorities have found that the South Korean 391 Hungjin fishing boat was carrying seven South Korean and three Vietnamese nationals," a ministry official said.

"The Pohang-based vessel is believed to have left a port of Ulleung Island in the early afternoon on Oct. 16 before going out of contact," the official noted. "The Coast Guard had been searching for the vessel, which stopped reporting its location on the night of Oct. 21."

The ministry said that it is a "relief" for the boat and its sailors to be repatriated, confirming that they will be sent back at the time as announced by the North.

Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun added that the government will conduct its own probe as to how they entered the North Korean waters as soon as they arrive here. (Yonhap)