South Korea's unification ministry is seeking North Korea's help to find a missing ​seaman near the two countries' border on ‌the east coast, it said on Sunday.

The request was sent via a text message to reporters because there ​is no active communication line with the ​North, according to the ministry in charge ⁠of handling inter-Korean affairs. It said it ​was directed to Pyongyang.

"On July 12, a navy ​seaman went missing while on a coast guard duty on the East Sea, and it seems there is a ​possibility of being drifted north across the ​Northern Limit Line," the message said, referring to the coastal ‌border ⁠with North Korea.

"As our navy is currently searching for the missing person, we request for cooperation with the search and return from a humanitarian ​perspective."

The North ​Korean embassy ⁠in London did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

The ​South Korean administration of President Lee ​Jae ⁠Myung has sought to ease tensions with Pyongyang since taking office last year, but its repeated ⁠overtures ​for dialogue have been rebuffed ​by North Korea, which declared South Korea as a "hostile nation" in ​2024.

-Reuters