Japan patrol ship crew says N.Korean boat hit them

Japan patrol ship crew says N.Korean boat hit them
7 October 2019 https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191008_08/

The crew of a Japanese patrol ship says a North Korean fishing boat suddenly approached it and came into contact with the vessel.

The patrol vessel of the Japanese Fisheries Agency and the North Korean boat collided on Monday in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan about 350 kilometers off the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Crew members on the agency's patrol ship rescued all of around 60 North Korean sailors who were thrown into the sea after their boat sank.

The North Koreans then boarded another North Korean ship sailing in the area.

The crew members onboard the patrol vessel told agency officials they saw what appeared to be a North Korean fishing boat in Japan's EEZ and warned it to retreat.

They said that the boat suddenly approached and made contact with their vessel.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans a debriefing for senior fisheries agency officials on why the crew handed rescued North Korean sailors over to another North Korean ship.

The fisheries agency has described it as a normal response, saying that the goal of its patrol mission is not to allow foreign boats to engage in illegal fishing in Japanese waters.