7 bodies found on suspected North Korean boat in Japan!

TOKYO: The badly decomposed remains of seven people have been found in a suspected North Korean fishing boat that washed up on a Japanese island, a coast guard official said on Sunday. The remains were found on Saturday in a broken vessel on the shore of Sado Island, which lies around 900 kilometres from North Korea across the Sea of Japan. “Five of the bodies were identified as men but the remaining two could not be identified” as they were badly damaged, the official said. “There have been similar cases but this was the first discovery of bodies in such a wrecked boat on this island this year,” the official added.
Korean alphabet and numbers were painted on the wooden hull, which was broken in half, he said, adding that there was nothing to show their nationality. Local media said Japanese police and coast guard are investigating the case, suspecting the vessel departed from North Korea.
So far this year, at least 156 suspected North Korean fishing vessels washed up on Japan’s coast or were found drifting in Japanese waters, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. — AFP