Seoul, Oct 24 (IANS): At least four people from North Korea have expressed their intent to defect to South Korea on Tuesday after they crossed the eastern maritime border on a wooden boat, sources said.

South Korean military officials secured the small boat, carrying the presumed North Koreans, in waters east off Sokcho, 151 km northeast of Seoul, after detecting "unusual activity" in the waters near the eastern Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritime border, early morning, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Troops had spotted and tracked the boat using radar and thermal observation devices.

"I understand that four people coming from North Korea expressed their intent to defect in the Sokcho area," a government source said, without elaborating.

Officials also received a report from South Korean fishermen operating in waters off Sokcho of an "unusual" boat nearby at around 7.10 a.m., according to the Coast Guard and military officials.

During a parliamentary audit of the Navy, Rep. Han Ki-ho of the ruling People Power Party said the wooden boat was set to enter a South Korean eastern port at about 11 a.m.

The military is expected to conduct a joint examination of the individuals with other relevant authorities, including the National Intelligence Service, after moving them to a safe location.

It marked the first time a group of North Koreans made an attempt to defect to South Korea through the East Sea since November 2019.

In May, the South Korean military intercepted a North Korean fishing boat carrying a group of defectors that crossed the western NLL in the Yellow Sea.