AN UNIDENTIFIED North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is now in South Korean custody, the South’s military said today.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had identified and tracked the individual as he approached the demarcation line and conducted a “guiding operation” before taking him into custody on Thursday night.

Authorities planned to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt.

The Joint Chiefs said it had notified the US-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North.

According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarised Zone that divides the two Koreas.

Since taking office last month, South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting front-line loudspeaker broadcasts and acting to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border.