The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Monday it will release a South Korean fishing boat and crew members held there for alleged trespass into its exclusive economic zone.

South Korea's Red Cross was notified earlier in the day by its DPRK counterpart that seven crew members and the seized boat "Daeseung 55" will be returned to South Korea on Tuesday, Seoul's unification ministry said.

The release will be made "from the compatriotic and humanitarian points of view," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The boat was seized on Aug. 8 presumably in waters within the DPRK's exclusive economic zone.

The announcement comes after South Korean authorities repeatedly urged Pyongyang to release four South Koreans and three Chinese on board the 41-ton vessel, who the DPRK claimed infringed upon its sovereignty.