Experts say vessel was possibly travelling far out to sea for bigger catchesSeven badly decomposed bodies were found in a suspected North Korean fishing boat that washed up on a Japanese island, a coast guard official. In 2019 at least 156 suspected North Korean fishing vessels have washed up on Japan’s coast or been found drifting in Japanese waters, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has reported. Experts say some North Korean fishermen are travelling far out to sea in order to satisfy government mandates for bigger catches. In 2018, 10 North Koreans rescued from a tiny wooden boat drifting off northern Japan were deported. In October around 60 members of a North Korean fishing boat were rescued in the Sea of Japan after it sank following a collision with a Japanese patrol vessel.

Source: The Guardian December 29, 2019 07:52 UTC