Two North Koreans drifting on a wooden boat in the Yellow Sea were reportedly discovered by the South Korean military early this month and are being investigated. 

According to the military authorities on Friday, a P-3 maritime patrol aircraft on a surveillance and reconnaissance mission discovered the small wooden boat in waters 170 kilometers west of Eocheong Island at 11:17 a.m. on March 7.

The military and the Korea Coast Guard found two North Korean men on the boat.

The location where they were found was within the Provisional Measures Zone, an area where the exclusive economic zones of South Korea and China overlap, and south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border. 

The military reportedly took custody of the two North Koreans and launched a joint investigation with relevant agencies, including the National Intelligence Service. 

The North Koreans are believed to have accidentally crossed the Northern Limit Line due to a problem with their boat and haven’t clearly expressed their intent to defect to South Korea.