The Navy on Monday recovered the body of a soldier who went missing during a patrol mission in waters near the Northern Limit Line in the East Sea and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. This photo is unrelated to the article. [Joint Chiefs of Staff]
The Navy on Monday recovered the body of a soldier who went missing during a patrol mission in waters near the Northern Limit Line in the East Sea and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. This photo is unrelated to the article. [Joint Chiefs of Staff]

The Navy said Monday it had recovered the body of a soldier who went missing during a patrol mission in waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea and launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the incident.

According to the Navy, a patrol vessel conducting search operations spotted the missing soldier at around 5:58 a.m. Monday in waters approximately 52 kilometers east of Geojin-eup, Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province. The body was retrieved at around 6:43 a.m. using a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) deployed from a frigate.

The recovered body was transferred to a separate frigate, which was scheduled to arrive at the Navy's Donghae base later Monday morning.

The vessel on which the incident occurred had already docked at Donghae base at around 8 a.m. Monday.

The Navy said it plans to conduct a joint investigation involving both civilian police and military investigative authorities to determine the exact circumstances and cause of death.

The Navy said it became aware at around 7:45 a.m. Sunday that a private first class assigned to a First Fleet frigate had gone missing during a patrol operation. It then deployed more than 10 vessels and multiple aircraft alongside the Korea Coast Guard, launching a full-scale search operation at around 8:30 a.m.

The soldier was last seen by an internal patrol duty officer aboard the vessel sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. Sunday.

Given that the disappearance occurred near the NLL, the military notified North Korea of the missing soldier through the International Safety Net and other channels receivable by the North. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek received a report on the incident Sunday morning and ordered personnel to do their utmost to rescue the missing soldier as quickly and safely as possible.


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