▲ This undated file photo, provided by the unification ministry, shows a North Korean wooden boat being towed from the East Sea in 2019. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) N Korea-defectors

(3rd LD) 4 people from N. Korea cross eastern maritime border in apparent defection attempt

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details; CHANGES photo)

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- A group of four unidentified individuals from North Korea crossed the eastern maritime inter-Korean border on a wooden boat Tuesday, officials said, in an apparent attempt to defect to South Korea.

South Korea's Coast Guard and military officials secured the small boat, carrying the presumed North Koreans, in waters east of Sokcho, 151 kilometers northeast of Seoul, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, after detecting "unusual activity" near the eastern Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritime border, in the early morning.

Troops had spotted and tracked the boat using radar and thermal observation devices, according to the JCS.

"I understand that four people coming from North Korea expressed their intent to defect in the Sokcho area," a government source said, without elaborating.

Officials also received a report from South Korean fishermen operating in waters off Sokcho of an "unusual" boat nearby at around 7:10 a.m., according to the Coast Guard and military officials.

Military and intelligence authorities were set to conduct a joint examination of the individuals over their exact motive for crossing into South Korea.

A unification ministry official declined to confirm whether the individuals sought to defect to South Korea, noting an investigation is under way.

It marked the first time a group of North Koreans made an attempt to defect to South Korea through the East Sea since November 2019.

In May, the South Korean military intercepted a North Korean fishing boat carrying a group of defectors that crossed the western NLL in the Yellow Sea.

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