A North Korean defector who swam across a sea border with South Korea while reportedly tied to floating plastic has been rescued and taken into custody, according to Seoul authorities.

Relations between the two Koreas were at an all time low in years under South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his martial law declaration last December, as the two sides engaged in tit-for-tat psychological warfare campaigns.

The speakers had previously been used to blast anti-North Korean propaganda, but the new liberal government in South Korea halts the broadcasts as it looks revive dialogue with Pyongyang.