A North Korean patrol boat chasing another North Korean vessel crossed the Northern Limit Line(NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said on Tuesday that they towed a North Korean boat that crossed the NLL around 9:30 a.m. in waters off Baengnyeong Island.

In the process, a North Korean patrol boat that had been chasing the vessel also crossed the maritime border and retreated after a South Korean naval patrol boat fired warning shots.

The captured boat and its crew were taken near Baengnyeong Island for further investigation.

There were reportedly seven unarmed passengers in the boat, with one in plain clothes and the rest in army uniforms.