Nov. 13 - A group of Koreans who became stateless after World War II are returning home to South Korea after more than 60 years stranded on the Russian island of Sakhalin.

The first group of 900 Koreans came back to the South in 2000. The current programme, open to Koreans 65 and above has relocated another 610 people since the start of October.

More than 150,000 Koreans went to work in the Japanese-ruled southern half of Sakhalin Island during World War II.

They became stranded after Japan's defeat in 1945, shunned by the Soviet Union. About two-thirds eventually went to live in Japan or North Korea, but those who wanted to return to South Korea had to wait for more than half-a-century before a repatriation plan was finally agreed.