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Niigata: 7 corpses found aboard suspected North Korean ship

NIIGATA (TR) – The Japan Coast Guard on Saturday announced the discovery of seven corpses aboard a suspected North Korean ship that drifted ashore in Sado City, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 28).

At around 3:45 p.m. on Friday, an officer on patrol found the bow of the wooden vessel along the coast of the Sobama area.

Due to poor weather, police did not board the craft — measuring 7.6 meters long and 4.3 meters wide — until Saturday.

Of the seven bodies, all of which had decayed substantially, two of them only consisted of heads, the coast guard said.

Police found 7 seven corpses aboard a ship that washed ashore in Sado City (Twitter)

With the hull containing hangul writing, which is the script of the Korean language, the coast guard suspects it originated from North Korea.

Fishing boats launched from North Korea wash ashore in Japan in the period of November through February. After their engines become disabled, water currents and winds push them to the coasts of the northern part of the nation.