South Korean Navy vessels take part in a maritime exercise in the East Sea in May 2025. (Republic of Korea Navy) A South Korean Navy sailor who went missing from a frigate near the eastern maritime border with North Korea was found dead Monday, less than a day after he was reported missing, the Navy said.The Navy said the sailor’s body was found at 5:58 a.m. about 52 kilometers off the coast of Geojin in Goseong, Gangwon Province, and recovered at 6:43 a.m.The body was transferred to another frigate, which was scheduled to arrive at the Navy’s East Sea base later Monday morning. The sailor was not wearing a life jacket when his body was found, according to reports.Military investigators plan to review the ship’s surveillance footage and other evidence to determine how the sailor went missing.“Civilian police and military investigative authorities will jointly investigate the exact circumstances of the incident and the cause of death,” the Navy said.The sailor, a private first class, was reported missing after he failed to show up for duty at 8 a.m. Sunday. He was last seen inside the ship in the early hours of the morning, according to the Navy.The sailor had been serving aboard a frigate conducting a patrol mission near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas in the East Sea.