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Authorities in South Korea have asked for the North’s help in searching for a sailor who went missing while on a patrol near the demarcation line. It is unusual for Seoul to ask for assistance from its belligerent neighbor, but a previous SAR case in 2020 ended in tragedy, and South Korean leaders are eager to prevent a recurrence.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, an enlisted sailor from a South Korean frigate went missing while the warship was operating about 25 nautical miles off the coast of Geojin-eup, in the Sea of Japan. The sailor was last seen at around 0000 hours on Sunday morning, and failed to report for duty at 0800.
The area is near the maritime boundary with North Korea, which extends northeastward from the Military Demarcation Line on shore (the MDL, the de facto border). The Sea of Japan (East Sea for South Korea) boundary region is not as conflict-prone as the disputed line in the Yellow Sea, where many skirmishes between the North and South have occurred over the years.
The ministry’s willingness to alert North Korean officials and ask for their help reflects lessons-learned from a previous incident. On September 21, 2020, fisheries officer Lee Dae-jun went missing while on patrol near the Yeonpyeong Islands, a disputed boundary zone in the Yellow Sea. South Korean naval and coast guard units began a search for Lee, without success: within about 12-15 hours, he had drifted into North Korean-controlled territory, immersed in the water but still alive.
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com
