SEOUL (Kyodo) The captain of a South Korean fishing boat accused of trespassing into Japanese waters has owned up to the violation, a South Korean diplomat said in a report by Yonhap news agency Friday. He was released later the same day.

"The South Korean Coast Guard completed their report based on the boat captain's testimony early this morning," the Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying. "The captain has acknowledged that he trespassed into Japan's EEZ and is likely to be released later today after giving a written guarantee that he will pay a fine in accordance with due procedure."

The two countries' maritime police forces conducted a joint probe into whether the 29-ton South Korean fishing boat had crossed into Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East Sea on Thursday.