SEOUL - A South Korean fishing boat was taken by North Korea in waters off the country's east coast Thursday, officials said.

"One South Korean fishing boat was taken by North Koreans in the East Sea (the Sea of Japan) early Thursday," a spokesman for the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff office told AFP.

"That's all I can confirm at the moment. We are still looking into the case," the spokesman added.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting an unnamed military official, said the incident occurred at dawn as the boat had a problem with its global positioning system.

"A 30-ton fishing boat was being towed by a North Korean patrol boat," the official told Yonhap, adding the incident occurred at 6:20 am (2220 GMT).

"It is presumed that the fishing boat was sailing off its destined course because its GPS was out of order."