The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has met with victims of human rights violations committed against South Korean fishermen who returned to the South in the 1960s and early ‘70s from North Korea.

The commission’s chief, Jung Geun-sik, met with six victims at the Gangwon provincial government on Wednesday and vowed that the commission will thoroughly investigate their claims regarding human rights violations.

The meeting came as the commission launched a probe last Tuesday to investigate claims by the fishermen that they suffered torture and were falsely accused of being spies by the nation’s security agencies upon returning from the North.

The commission’s investigation will focus on 39 cases involving 982 fishermen who returned to the South between 1965 and 1972 after being held in the North for several days to several years. The victims were either abducted by North Korean patrol boats or had unwittingly drifted into North Korean waters.

Upon returning to the South, the fishermen were subjected to illegal investigations and endured punishment after being accused of violating the National Security Act and the Anti-Communist Law.