TOKYO: Japan will investigate 10 people who have signaled they are from North Korea after their dilapidated boat drifted into waters off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, officials said Thursday.
The coast guard spotted the vessel on Wednesday, the latest in a recent spate of sightings of wrecked or capsized boats from North Korea, sometimes with dead bodies aboard.
A crew member told the coast guard they were 10 North Korean nationals sheltering from stormy weather, said coast guard spokesman Yuuichi Chiba.
“They gestured ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the questions we put on our electronic message board,” said Chiba.
“We are now towing the boat to calmer water and plan to hold an on-site inspection inside the boat this afternoon,” he added.
The incident came days after a group of eight fishermen claiming to be from North Korea washed up in northern Akita prefecture.
And earlier this week, 10 bodies were found inside a battered wooden boat in Akita.
Dozens of North Korean fishing vessels wash up on Japan’s coast every year.
Experts say some North Korean fishermen travel far out to sea in order to satisfy government mandates for bigger catches.
But their old and poorly equipped vessels are prone to mechanical and other problems, including running out of fuel, and there are few ways for them to call for rescue.
Last year, 66 boats that appear to have come from North Korea were found floating in Japanese seas. More than 50 have already been discovered this year, according to the coast guard.
Ten ‘North Koreans’ drift into Japanese waters, coast guard says
Ten ‘North Koreans’ drift into Japanese waters, coast guard says
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
