Seoul Asks Pyongyang for Help in Search for Missing Sailor

South Korea has formally requested the cooperation of North Korea in the search for a missing navy sailor who is believed to have drifted across the maritime border. The sailor, an apprentice seaman, disappeared on the morning of July 12 during a security mission in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the sailor went missing near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritime boundary that Pyongyang does not officially recognize. The South Korean navy is currently conducting its own search operations.

"While the South Korean navy is currently searching for the missing sailor, we ask North Korea to cooperate, for humanitarian reasons, in the search operations and the repatriation of this person," a ministry spokesperson stated in a message to AFP.

The two Koreas remain officially at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Despite the ongoing tensions, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in mid-2025, has been seeking to ease relations with the North. However, Pyongyang has not yet responded to Seoul's appeal and has been strengthening its ties with Russia.

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While the South Korean navy is currently searching for the missing sailor, we ask North Korea to cooperate, for humanitarian reasons, in the search operations and the repatriation of this person.