Seoul, Nov 27 (IANS) South Korea's military guided back a North Korean merchant vessel, after the ship crossed the inter-Korean maritime border southward due to an engine problem, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea said on Wednesday.

The JCS said it detected and tracked an unidentified vessel, which crossed the inter-Korean sea boundary in the western waters and sailed southward, at around 6.40 a.m. local time, Xinhua reported.

The South Korean military issued warning broadcasts and fired warning shots to guide the vessel into deep waters westward after the vessel was confirmed to have been a North Korean merchant ship.

The trespassing happened because of what appeared to be the bad weather and engine problem, the JSC said.

--IANS vin/