An individual crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Saturday night, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has confirmed to NK News, though the person's nationality and reason for crossing remain unknown.

The JCS said the individual crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) from Gangwon Province in South Korea around 10:40 p.m. on New Year’s Day, about 80 minutes after the military launched a search. The MDL bisects the 4-km-wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas.