ID :
206806
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 10:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/206806
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Nine alleged N. Korean asylum seekers being questioned in Japan
TOKYO, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Nine people claiming to be North Korean asylum seekers are being questioned in Japan after their wooden boat was spotted adrift in waters off western Japan on Tuesday, a news report said.
The boat was first spotted drifting in waters near the island of Nanatsu around 7:30 a.m. Japan's coast guard escorted the boat to the nearby port of Kanazawa later in the day, according to Japan's Kyodo News.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- told authorities that they are from North Korea, they are related to each other and they want to go to South Korea, according to the report.
Kyodo said that there is unconfirmed information that the group leader told authorities that he belongs to North Korea's military. The boat was about eight meters long and has a Korean word printed on it, according to the report.
The group is under investigation to determine their motivations for defecting, it said.
Japan's coast guard declined to confirm the report.
A diplomatic source said that Japanese authorities are trying to verify the family's claims that they are from the North. So far, Japan has allowed North Korean asylum seekers to go to South Korea according to their will.
(END)
The boat was first spotted drifting in waters near the island of Nanatsu around 7:30 a.m. Japan's coast guard escorted the boat to the nearby port of Kanazawa later in the day, according to Japan's Kyodo News.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- told authorities that they are from North Korea, they are related to each other and they want to go to South Korea, according to the report.
Kyodo said that there is unconfirmed information that the group leader told authorities that he belongs to North Korea's military. The boat was about eight meters long and has a Korean word printed on it, according to the report.
The group is under investigation to determine their motivations for defecting, it said.
Japan's coast guard declined to confirm the report.
A diplomatic source said that Japanese authorities are trying to verify the family's claims that they are from the North. So far, Japan has allowed North Korean asylum seekers to go to South Korea according to their will.
(END)
