North Koreans Free 2 Farmers

SEOUL — North Korea today released two South Korean farmers abducted last week in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, a spokesman for the United Nations Command in Seoul said.

The two South Koreans, a 66-year-old mother and her 41-year-old son, were returned at the United Nations truce village of Panmunjom, the U.N. Command spokesman said.

On Friday, 12 armed North Korean soldiers abducted the two in a rice field near the village of Taesongdong, the U.N. Command said. The North Koreans crossed a demarcation line that divides the demilitarized zone and took them to the northern side, it said.

Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency today said allegations that the farmers had been abducted were an attempt by South Korea to disrupt the two nation’s relations and North Korean efforts to gain humanitarian aid.