South Korean military forces discovered a small wooden boat carrying two North Korean civilians after drifting across the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea.
According to the Ministry of National Defense of South Korea, on Friday, the military detected a small wooden boat drifting in the Yellow Sea earlier this month and coordinated with relevant agencies, including the Coast Guard, to take the individuals into custody.
Intelligence authorities, including the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, conducted a joint interrogation. Sources indicate that the North Koreans likely crossed the NLL unintentionally while drifting due to boat problems.
Given that the individuals have not explicitly expressed intentions to defect, officials are reportedly deliberating whether to repatriate them to North Korea.
A similar incident occurred in July 2019 during the Moon Jae In administration. A North Korean vessel mistakenly crossed the NLL in the East Sea, and its occupants wanted to return to North Korea. South Korean authorities coordinated the repatriation through the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office, returning the individuals within approximately 40 hours.