Two North Koreans defected to South Korea across the Yellow Sea early on Saturday.

A Seoul government official said a small boat carrying the two was spotted in waters north of Baengnyeong Island near the western inter-Korean sea border.

The official said a South Korean Navy vessel arrived on the scene and secured the custody of the two men who expressed their will to defect.

One of the men is known to be a soldier with the rank of major, and the other is a North Korean resident. 

The government is investigating how and why they defected.

This is the first time in ten years for a North Korean military officer to defect to the South from the border area. The last time was in April 2008, when first lieutenant Lee Chol-ho serving in the North's State Security Department defected to a South Korean guard post near the Panmunjeom border village on the western front. 

[Photo : KBS News]