(CNN) -- North Korea has decided to return a South Korean fishing boat and its crew, after the North's navy intercepted them in its waters in August, state-run media said Monday.
The illegal fishing operation in the Sea of Japan on August 8 was "an intolerable infringement upon the sovereignty" of North Korea, the KCNA news agency said.
The boat and crew will be returned for humanitarian reasons, though, KCNA said.
The crew of the "55 Daesung" acknowledged the gravity of their actions and promised not to repeat them, said the news agency, which also cited the South Korean Red Cross's request for leniency.
North Korea says the Sea of Japan is actually the East Sea of Korea.
In August, a U.S. congressman submitted a resolution urging North Korea to release the crew -- four South Koreans and three Chinese, according to South Korean state-run media.
CNN
