South Korean guards near the heavily fortified inter-Korean border have retrieved the body of an unidentified North Korean soldier from a river that intersects the divided Koreas.

An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday said that the body was first spotted around 10 a.m. in the Bukhan River near Yanggu. He added that South Korean guards fired several warning shots as they saw an unidentified object drifting through the border.

The official said that the deceased male was wearing a uniform of the North Korean Army, and appeared to have been dead for at least a week.

The body did not have bullet wounds or other external injuries.

If the deceased is confirmed to be a North Korean soldier, the government will return the body to Pyongyang via the truce village of Panmunjeom.