South Korea’s navy said on Monday it had recovered the body of a sailor off the east coast, a day after the seaman disappeared near the de facto sea border between the two Koreas.
Authorities launched a large search involving 10 ships and aircraft after the sailor failed to report for duty on Sunday morning while the vessel was on patrol near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the neighbours.
“A patrol boat participating in the search operation found the missing sailor at 5.58am on Monday, about 52km (32 miles) east of Geojin,” the South Korean navy said in a statement.
Seoul had asked North Korea on Sunday to help search for the sailor after fears the individual might have drifted across the border. “There have been no updates from North Korea,” Seoul’s Unification Ministry said on Monday.
The navy said the body was transferred to another frigate, which was due to arrive later on Monday at Donghae Naval Base on South Korea’s east coast.
Authorities said the circumstances surrounding the sailor’s disappearance and the cause of death would be investigated jointly by civilian police and military investigators.