This June 14, 2019 file photo shows the Republic of Korea's army soldiers patrolling the DMZ Peace Trail in the Demilitarized Zone in Goseong, ROK. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)

SEOUL - A man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) who crossed the heavily fortified border with the Republic of Korea (ROK) has said he wants to defect to ROK, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

The man was taken into custody in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the DPRK and ROK on Wednesday, several hours after he was spotted crossing barbed wire fences installed along the border, prompting an urgent search operation.

There was no unusual movement from DPRK troops, said a spokesman for ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff

Authorities have launched an investigation into how the man managed to cross the frontier, ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

READ MORE: ROK apprehends DPRK man after search along border

"I understand the person has expressed his willingness to defect," JCS spokesman Kim Joon-rak said at a briefing, declining to provide further detail during the ongoing investigation.

Kim said border controls were being further examined after the search for the man revealed that some parts of the fences equipped with electronic monitoring systems were found to have been damaged, possibly by typhoons.

There was no unusual movement from DPRK troops, Kim added.

The defection came just as Seoul reopens tours to the southern part of the DMZ, which has seen several armed clashes but also served as a venue for key inter-Korean events, including some of the most recent summits.

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The tours had been suspended in October 2019 after an outbreak of deadly African swine fever broke out in DPRK, and then due to concerns about the novel coronavirus this year.

This week's DMZ crossing is the first since a DPRK soldier defected to ROK in 2019. Another soldier crossed in 2018, and in a more dramatic 2017 incident, DPRK troops fired at a soldier when he drove an army truck through the DMZ.