ID :
206836
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/206836
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) Nine alleged N. Korean asylum seekers arrive in Japan
(ATTN: RECASTS lead, UPDATES with foreign ministry comments in last 2 paras; CHANGES headline)
TOKYO/SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Nine people who claim to be North Korean defectors are under questioning in Japan after being found adrift aboard a small boat off the country's west coast Tuesday, a Japanese news report said.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- told Japanese authorities that they are family members from North Korea and that they want to go to South Korea, according to Kyodo News Agency.
The boat was first spotted drifting in waters near the island of Nanatsu off western Japan around 7:30 a.m., Kyodo said. Japan's coast guard later escorted it to nearby port Kanazawa, it said.
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 claim that they are from the North. So far, Japan has allowed North Korean asylum seekers to go to South Korea according to their will.
In Seoul, a foreign ministry official said that the Japanese coast guard is expected to share its findings with South Korea once the debriefing is over.
"If they are confirmed to be North Korean defectors and have a clear desire to come to South Korea, we will take necessary measures in accordance with the principles in handling defectors," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.
(END)
TOKYO/SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Nine people who claim to be North Korean defectors are under questioning in Japan after being found adrift aboard a small boat off the country's west coast Tuesday, a Japanese news report said.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- told Japanese authorities that they are family members from North Korea and that they want to go to South Korea, according to Kyodo News Agency.
The boat was first spotted drifting in waters near the island of Nanatsu off western Japan around 7:30 a.m., Kyodo said. Japan's coast guard later escorted it to nearby port Kanazawa, it said.
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 claim that they are from the North. So far, Japan has allowed North Korean asylum seekers to go to South Korea according to their will.
In Seoul, a foreign ministry official said that the Japanese coast guard is expected to share its findings with South Korea once the debriefing is over.
"If they are confirmed to be North Korean defectors and have a clear desire to come to South Korea, we will take necessary measures in accordance with the principles in handling defectors," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.
(END)
