The body of a man in his 20s who drowned in a possible attempt to escape North Korea will be cremated, Seoul announced Friday, after the DPRK ignored entreaties to accept the remains.

ROK authorities recovered the body last month in waters off the coast of Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul. He was identified as North Korean from a train ticket and other belongings, including what intelligence officials initially thought was an illicit drug but turned out to be a white powder used to treat skin disease.