South Korean news outlet TV Chosun reports that intelligence sources have confirmed the recent sinking of a North Korean military transport vessel in an incident that left around 90 people dead.
The sources said the unidentified "very large ship" was transiting a river with 130 troops on board en route to North Korea's border with South Korea's Gangwon province when it sank.
The sinking occurred in May and is believed to have been partly caused by overloading. However, North Korea's own news agencies have yet to publish any details about the incident.
The troops on the vessel were being ferried to the border with Gangwon as part of a string of security enhancement measures recently initiated by Pyongyang.
The intelligence reports also said that Kang Sun-nam, North Korea's Minister of Defence, visited the incident site following the sinking and ordered the implementation of the necessary measures to prevent a similar occurrence.
Park Won-gon, a professor with the Department of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, told TV Chosun that the sinking has sparked unrest within the North Korean military and that recent provocations against South Korea may be used by Pyongyang as a means of drawing attention away from the tragedy.