ID :
206888
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 16:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/206888
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Nine alleged N. Korean asylum seekers arrive in Japan
TOKYO/SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Nine people claiming to be North Koreans arrived in Japan by boat Tuesday, saying that they want to defect to South Korea, a Japanese news agency reported.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- were found drifting in a small wooden boat in waters near Nanatsu, an island off western Japan facing the Korean Peninsula, around 7:30 a.m., Kyodo News Agency said.
Japan's coast guard later escorted the boat to nearby Kanazawa port, it said.
The would-be North Korean defectors told Japanese investigators that they are family members, Kyodo said, adding that there is unconfirmed information that the group leader is from the North's military.
The boat, about eight meters long, has a Korean word printed on it, Kyodo said.
The group is under investigation to determine their motivation 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 June 2007, a North Korean family of four arrived in Aomori, a prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu, after sailing about 900 kilometers from North Korea's northeastern port city of Chongjin. The Japanese government, under the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, allowed them to go to South Korea two weeks later in line with their wishes.
North Korean defections to Japan by boat are rare due to the long distance and the large number of military bases spread along the North's east coast. Most defectors prefer to take a land route across the Chinese border or sail south across the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
"Fishing boats are often seen fishing for shells and other things in the Yellow Sea, but it's not easy to set a boat afloat in the East Sea because of the large number of military bases," said Kim Seong-min, head of NK People's Liberation Front, a group of defectors from North Korea's armed forces.
Kim, who defected in 1996, said that if the group leader's claim is true, he may have belonged to the army's marine products base on the East Coast and gained access to a boat.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the Tokyo government will "respond appropriately based on past examples," but gave no details on the North Koreans or where they wish to go.
"(We have) not received any information yet," he told reporters at a press conference.
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.
The nine -- three men, three women and three children -- were found drifting in a small wooden boat in waters near Nanatsu, an island off western Japan facing the Korean Peninsula, around 7:30 a.m., Kyodo News Agency said.
Japan's coast guard later escorted the boat to nearby Kanazawa port, it said.
The would-be North Korean defectors told Japanese investigators that they are family members, Kyodo said, adding that there is unconfirmed information that the group leader is from the North's military.
The boat, about eight meters long, has a Korean word printed on it, Kyodo said.
The group is under investigation to determine their motivation 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 June 2007, a North Korean family of four arrived in Aomori, a prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu, after sailing about 900 kilometers from North Korea's northeastern port city of Chongjin. The Japanese government, under the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, allowed them to go to South Korea two weeks later in line with their wishes.
North Korean defections to Japan by boat are rare due to the long distance and the large number of military bases spread along the North's east coast. Most defectors prefer to take a land route across the Chinese border or sail south across the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
"Fishing boats are often seen fishing for shells and other things in the Yellow Sea, but it's not easy to set a boat afloat in the East Sea because of the large number of military bases," said Kim Seong-min, head of NK People's Liberation Front, a group of defectors from North Korea's armed forces.
Kim, who defected in 1996, said that if the group leader's claim is true, he may have belonged to the army's marine products base on the East Coast and gained access to a boat.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the Tokyo government will "respond appropriately based on past examples," but gave no details on the North Koreans or where they wish to go.
"(We have) not received any information yet," he told reporters at a press conference.
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.
