DPRK boat collides with Japanese patrol vessel

A Japanese patrol ship inspecting the site where two boats collided in the sea of Japan, Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa prefecture. AFP

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A North Korean boat collided with a Japanese fisheries agency patrol vessel in the Sea of Japan Monday, sending around 20 North Koreans overboard, the coast guard said.

“We are dispatching rescue boats and aircraft to the area, but we don’t know any more details about it,” Japan coast guard spokesman Kazuma Nohara told AFP.

The North Korean boat was believed to be a fishing vessel, which reportedly capsized partially after the crash. There was no immediate word on the status of the crew.

The collision occurred in waters some 350 kilometers northwest of Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan, Nohara said.

“We’ve been strengthening patrols around the water there in cooperation with the fisheries agency,” in recent years following reports that many North Korean fishing boats were poaching fish and squids, he said.

Experts say some fishermen from the North are travelling far out to sea in order to satisfy government mandates for bigger catches.