South Korea asks North Korea for help with finding missing seaman near border

SEOUL - South Korea's unification ministry is seeking North Korea's help to find a missing seaman near the two countries' border on the east coast, it said on Sunday.

The request was sent via a text message to reporters because there is no active communication line with the North, according to the ministry in charge of handling inter-Korean affairs. It said it was directed to Pyongyang.

"On July 12, a navy seaman went missing while on a coast guard duty on the East Sea, and it seems there is a possibility of being drifted north across the Northern Limit Line," the message said, referring to the coastal border with North Korea.

"As our navy is currently searching for the missing person, we request for cooperation with the search and return from a humanitarian perspective."

The North Korean embassy in London did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

The South Korean administration of President Lee Jae Myung has sought to ease tensions with Pyongyang since taking office last year, but its repeated overtures for dialogue have been rebuffed by North Korea, which declared South Korea as a "hostile nation" in 2024.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 5:55 AM.