The Defense Ministry has launched efforts to determine whether military units took appropriate measures with regard to a North Korean ship that drifted deep into South Korean waters last weekend. 

The ministry announced that a joint probe team formed for the task began work on Thursday. 

The team is said to be made up of military experts on operations and intelligence as well as officials from the Defense Ministry, the Criminal Investigation Command and Defense Security Support Command.  

The team will be investigating for around a week the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army’s 23rd Infantry Division and the Navy’s First Fleet, all of which are tasked with vigilance operations at sea and along coastal areas.  

The Defense Ministry plans to take stern measures in line with laws and regulations if the probe comes across any shortcomings and to swiftly devise measures to correct such problems.