ID :
206885
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 16:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/206885
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9 possible N. Korea defectors found on boat off Japanese coast
TOKYO, Sept. 13 Kyodo -
An unidentified boat was found in the Sea of Japan off the coast of the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning carrying nine people who said they came from North Korea, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children around elementary school age -- are believed to be North Korean defectors and are being towed toward the port in Ishikawa's capital Kanazawa by crew from the 9th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Niigata Prefecture, it said.
A man who represented himself as the leader of the nine was quoted as saying, ''We came from North Korea and want to go to South Korea.'' He said all nine were relatives, and had left from a North Korean port last Thursday morning, according to the coast guard.
The man also said that he is a member of the Korean People's Army.
According to the coast guard, the last time North Korean defectors arrived in Japan by boat was June 2007 when a family of four arrived in Aomori, a prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu.
As a humanitarian gesture, Japan, under the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, allowed them to travel onto South Korea in line with their wishes.
At a new conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the nine told authorities they came from North Korea and are seeking help.
''We would like to handle the situation appropriately looking at precedents,'' Fujimura said, alluding to the 2007 case.
But the top government spokesman added it is still unknown if the latest case is similar to that of four years ago.
The wooden craft carrying the nine is about 8 meters long and stocked with rice and pickled vegetables but is not equipped with any global positioning system. None of the nine people was wearing a life jacket.
After receiving a report from a local fisherman at around 7:30 a.m. that ''an unfamiliar vessel bearing Korean characters'' had been seen at sea, officers from the No. 9 headquarters set out to reach the boat. They then boarded it around 9:30 a.m. in waters 16 kilometers east-northeast of the port of Wajima in Ishikawa.
The local coast guard will further question the people upon their arrival in Kanazawa.
An unidentified boat was found in the Sea of Japan off the coast of the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning carrying nine people who said they came from North Korea, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children around elementary school age -- are believed to be North Korean defectors and are being towed toward the port in Ishikawa's capital Kanazawa by crew from the 9th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Niigata Prefecture, it said.
A man who represented himself as the leader of the nine was quoted as saying, ''We came from North Korea and want to go to South Korea.'' He said all nine were relatives, and had left from a North Korean port last Thursday morning, according to the coast guard.
The man also said that he is a member of the Korean People's Army.
According to the coast guard, the last time North Korean defectors arrived in Japan by boat was June 2007 when a family of four arrived in Aomori, a prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu.
As a humanitarian gesture, Japan, under the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, allowed them to travel onto South Korea in line with their wishes.
At a new conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the nine told authorities they came from North Korea and are seeking help.
''We would like to handle the situation appropriately looking at precedents,'' Fujimura said, alluding to the 2007 case.
But the top government spokesman added it is still unknown if the latest case is similar to that of four years ago.
The wooden craft carrying the nine is about 8 meters long and stocked with rice and pickled vegetables but is not equipped with any global positioning system. None of the nine people was wearing a life jacket.
After receiving a report from a local fisherman at around 7:30 a.m. that ''an unfamiliar vessel bearing Korean characters'' had been seen at sea, officers from the No. 9 headquarters set out to reach the boat. They then boarded it around 9:30 a.m. in waters 16 kilometers east-northeast of the port of Wajima in Ishikawa.
The local coast guard will further question the people upon their arrival in Kanazawa.
