Japan sends 60 North Korean fishermen back after ship collision
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North Korean crew on board a life boat of the Japanese patrol boat Okuni, which collided with a North Korean-flagged fishing boat off Japan's northern coast, on Oct 7, 2019.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE / JAPAN COAST GUARD
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - All 60 North Koreans on a boat suspected of illegally fishing in Japanese waters have been rescued after their vessel collided with a Japanese Fisheries Agency ship and sank, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday (Oct 8).
The North Korean boat suddenly turned while being warned off by the Japanese ship on Monday around the Yamato Bank, one of the richest fishing grounds in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Agriculture Minister Taku Eto told reporters. The area is about 350km north-west of Japan's Noto Peninsula.
Pictures on public broadcaster NHK's website showed the Japanese vessel firing a water cannon at the North Korean boat. The crew was allowed to board another North Korean vessel to return home, according to NHK.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party was set to call in Fisheries Agency officials on Tuesday to question them about the incident and why the fishermen were allowed to go back to North Korea.
Japan and North Korea are long-time adversaries and Tokyo has for decades demanded Pyongyang provide an accurate accounting on at least 17 Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. North Korea has threatened to sink Japan into the sea and test-fired missiles in and over its territory - the most recent of which was a new submarine-launched ballistic missile launched last week with a portion landing in Japan's EEZ.