South Korean sailor found dead near border after North Korea ignored search request

Representative image

The body of a missing South Korean sailor has been recovered off the east coast, a day after he disappeared during patrol near the de facto maritime border with North Korea, the navy said on Monday.The sailor, a seaman apprentice, failed to report for duty on Sunday morning while the vessel was on patrol near the Northern Limit Line. Authorities launched a search involving 10 ships and aircraft.A patrol boat participating in the search found the body at about 5.58 am on Monday, roughly 52 kilometres east of Geojin, the navy said. The body was transferred to another frigate and was due to arrive later at Donghae Naval Base for further investigation.South Korea had asked North Korea on Sunday to help search for the sailor, fearing he might have drifted across the border. "There have been no updates from North Korea," Seoul's Unification Ministry said on Monday.The circumstances surrounding the sailor's disappearance and cause of death will be investigated jointly by civilian police and military authorities.Tensions remain high along the sea border drawn after the 1950-53 Korean War.

In 2020, a South Korean fisheries official who drifted across the sea border was shot dead by North Korean soldiers, prompting a rare apology from Pyongyang.President Lee Jae Myung has pursued a dovish approach toward the nuclear-armed North since taking office in June 2025, seeking dialogue and confidence-building measures. Pyongyang, however, has not responded to repeated overtures while deepening ties with Moscow and Beijing.