Seoul, May 18 (IANS): A group of North Koreans, including children, crossed the de facto inter-Korean maritime border aboard a fishing boat earlier this month and are currently undergoing questioning by South Korean authorities, sources said here on Thursday.

The military authorities found the boat approaching the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea at night on May 6 and sent troops to intercept it soon after it sailed across the maritime boundary, Yonhap News Agency quoted the sources as saying.

The North Koreans are said to have expressed their intention to defect to South Korea.

They are reportedly undergoing questioning by relevant government agencies, including the National Intelligence Service, at a military base in the Seoul metropolitan area.

A military official here refused to confirm their border crossing but did not deny it.

"We cannot confirm details on that, but our military has been maintaining a thorough readiness posture to prepare against the possibility of North Korean provocations and of defections," the official said.

In recent years, the number of North Korean defectors here dropped due in large part to the reclusive state's stringent border controls put in place to fend off the spread of Covid-19.

The number, which was tallied at around 1,000 in 2019, dipped to 229 in 2020 and 63 in 2021.

Last year, it stood at 67.