Seoul ¨C South Korea asked North Korea on Sunday to help search for and return a missing navy sailor believed to have drifted across the de facto inter-Korean maritime border.
The request follows reports that the sailor went missing on Sunday morning while a vessel was on patrol off South Korea¡¯s eastern coast near the Northern Limit Line.
¡°A sailor aboard a South Korean navy vessel conducting a security mission in the East Sea went missing on the morning of July 12 and is believed to have drifted north of the NLL,¡± Seoul¡¯s Unification Ministry said in a brief statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
¡°As the South Korean Navy is currently searching for the missing sailor, we request North Korea¡¯s cooperation, on humanitarian grounds, in the search and the individual¡¯s return,¡± it added.
The sailor holds the rank of seaman apprentice, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back also instructed officials to ¡°make every effort to rescue the missing serviceman as quickly and safely as possible¡°, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, without providing further details.
The appeal comes as President Lee Jae Myung has sought to ease tensions with the nuclear-armed North by pursuing dialogue and confidence-building measures after years of strained relations.
Lee has taken a dovish approach to North Korea since taking office in June 2025 in stark contrast to his predecessor¡¯s hawkish policy.
Pyongyang, however, has not responded to Seoul¡¯s repeated overtures while deepening ties with Moscow. It recently hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping in its capital for a summit.
Official reports of the summit made no mention of denuclearisation.
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