Three North Korean fishermen found drifting aboard a small boat in South Korean waters earlier this week were sent back to their communist homeland Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

The three were found Thursday on a wooden boat in waters off South Korea’s east coast.

North Koreans sometimes use the maritime boarder to defect to South Korea but the three Northern fishermen wanted to go back home, a government official said earlier.

“The North Korean boat and its three crew members found in South Korean waters were sent back today through a procedure earlier arranged with North Korea,” the official said. (Yonhap News)