N. Korea demands Seoul repatriate 9 defectors

North Korea delivered a message on Thursday demanding that South Korea repatriate nine North Koreans who defected by sea over the weekend, warning that the South's failing to do so would worsen inter-Korean relations, Seoul officials said. The North's move comes one day after local media, citing a government source, reported that three men, two women and four children crossed the tense western sea border on two engineless boats to seek refuge in South Korea last Saturday. The South's Unification Ministry, which takes charge of inter-Korean matters, first officially confirmed their defection Thursday.