Post by robeiae on Dec 23, 2017 10:02:22 GMT -5
A detailed story on the North Korean "ghost ships" that wash up on the coast of northwestern Japan: www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/asia/japan-north-korea-ghost-ships-intl/index.html
This seems like pure desperation to me, people forced to risk it all just to get food.
For years, North Korean boats -- often dubbed "ghost ships" -- have been washing up on Japanese shores.
But this year marked a record for this mysterious phenomenon. By December 18, the Japanese Coast Guard counted at least 95 North Korean boats, accompanied by at least 27 bodies. Those numbers are likely to continue rising.
[snip]
North Korea is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Japan.
The North Korean boats drifting onto Japanese beaches are ill-equipped to travel such a vast distance across open sea...
"Only an idiot would fish this way," says Akira Funatsu, a 76-year-old veteran Japanese fisherman.
He notes that there are no refrigerators or freezers on the North Korean boats to properly preserve the catch.
[snip]
On November 28, Coast Guard vessels encountered a North Korean boat with ten crew members on board drifting off the Japanese coast.
A police official from Japan's Hokkaido prefecture said the 10 sailors were suspected of having looted a fishing station from an uninhabited Japanese island close to Hokkaido.
The official spoke to CNN -- according to protocol -- on condition of anonymity. The official says the boat in question had a sign identifying it as part of the "Korean People's Army 854 Military Corps."
But this year marked a record for this mysterious phenomenon. By December 18, the Japanese Coast Guard counted at least 95 North Korean boats, accompanied by at least 27 bodies. Those numbers are likely to continue rising.
[snip]
North Korea is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Japan.
The North Korean boats drifting onto Japanese beaches are ill-equipped to travel such a vast distance across open sea...
"Only an idiot would fish this way," says Akira Funatsu, a 76-year-old veteran Japanese fisherman.
He notes that there are no refrigerators or freezers on the North Korean boats to properly preserve the catch.
[snip]
On November 28, Coast Guard vessels encountered a North Korean boat with ten crew members on board drifting off the Japanese coast.
A police official from Japan's Hokkaido prefecture said the 10 sailors were suspected of having looted a fishing station from an uninhabited Japanese island close to Hokkaido.
The official spoke to CNN -- according to protocol -- on condition of anonymity. The official says the boat in question had a sign identifying it as part of the "Korean People's Army 854 Military Corps."
