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Police launch investigation after finding body in river near North Korea

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 17:10 Updated: 02 Apr. 2026, 18:13

Ice floes drift along the Imjin River near a village in Kaepung County, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, as seen from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 8. [YONHAP]

Police launched an investigation after a severely decomposed body was found in the Imjin River near the North Korean border in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Thursday.

Authorities discovered the body, believed to be male, at around 9:20 a.m. in the river in Naepo-ri, Munsan-eup according to the Paju police precinct.

The body was nearly naked and showed advanced signs of decomposition. Police said they found no belongings nearby that could help identify the individual.

Officers recovered the body after receiving a report from a witness and began procedures to establish the victim’s identity.

“The body is severely decomposed, making it difficult to identify," a police official said. “We have not determined whether the individual is South Korean or North Korean."

"We plan to request an autopsy from the National Forensic Service," the official added.

Police said they are considering the possibility that the body may belong to a North Korean resident based on the location where it was found.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]