TOKYO: The Japanese coast guard was searching for crew members who fell into the sea from a wooden North Korean fishing boat that capsized off Japan’s northwestern coast, officials said Wednesday.
The coast guard said it dispatched four patrol vessels and two aircraft after receiving information of the capsizing earlier Wednesday.
Officials said the incident occurred near an area called Yamatotai, a rich fishing ground that’s also crowded with North Korean poachers.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that a Japanese fisheries inspection ship received a distress call from another North Korean boat. He said the Japanese fisheries and coast guard patrol boats are jointly searching for the missing.
No further details were available, including the number of crew or why the boat capsized. It was not immediately known if the boat was inside Japan’s 200-mile (322-kilometer) exclusive economic zone, where the country has the right to all resources.
Last week, a North Korean boat in the area sank after a collision with a Japanese fisheries boat warning it to leave the Japanese exclusive economic zone. About 60 crew members of the North Korean steel boat were safely rescued by another boat from the North.
Japanese Fishing Agency and coast guard officials said they did not arrest the North Koreans because their boat had sunk and could not obtain proof they were fishing illegaly. The area is too deep to retrieve the sunken ship, officials said.
The government plans to release a video around the time of the collision.
Japan has stepped up sea patrols after noticing more North Korean boats as Pyongyang tries to boost fish harvests.
![]()
Japan searching for North Korean boat crew who fell into sea
Japan searching for North Korean boat crew who fell into sea
- Officials say the boat capsized in a rich fishing ground frequented by North Korean poachers
- Another North Korean boat sank in a recent incident after colliding with a Japanese fishing vessel
Egypt 'won’t hesitate' to help preserve Sudan's unity
- Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says Cairo 'will not allow under any circumstances' collapse of its neighbor
- Egypt supports the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary RSF since April 2023
CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday that Cairo would take all necessary measures to preserve Sudan’s unity, as the neighboring country approaches its fourth year of war between the army and its paramilitary rivals.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.