South Korea handed over five North Korean fishermen to the communist country on Saturday, five days after they were picked up from a boat drifting off South Korea's eastern coast, an official said.

The repatriation took place at the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas around 11:30 a.m., according to the unification ministry official.

South Korea said the five fishermen expressed their wish to go back to North Korea. The five fishermen were rescued by a South Korean coast guard vessel in the East Sea on Monday after their ship ran adrift due to engine problems. (Yonhap)