29 Nov 2012

Bodies found in boat from Korea

6:03 am on 29 November 2012

A wooden boat with five decomposing bodies in it has washed ashore on an island off the north-western coast of Japan.

The 10m vessel washed ashore on Sado Island, Niigata City in waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula. It had Korean markings.

NHK reported that all those on board were adult males. Police have not confirmed their nationalities but suspect the men were North Korean.

A small number of North Korean refugees have made the journey to Japan by boat in the past.

Fishermen found the vessel, weighing more than 4500kg (five tonnes), around 09am on Wednesday.

Fishermen said that they found no engines attached to the boat. The BBC reports the men on board were estimated to have died at least a month ago.

In September last year, a boat carrying nine North Koreans arrived in Kanazawa, further to the south. The group were later resettled in South Korea.