2 bodies possibly from N. Korea found in central Japan

November 27, 2017

Niigata- The bodies of two men, possibly from North Korea, were discovered on the coast of Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on the weekend.

Local police found partially skeletal remains of a man on an island breach on Sunday morning following a report from a local resident. On Saturday morning, the body of another man was found on a nearby beach, along with many pieces of wood believed to be parts of the wreckage of a North Korean wooden boat.

The Niigata prefectural police department and the local station of the Japan Coast Guard are looking into the possibility of the bodies having reached the Sea of Japan island from North Korea.

The coastal area was littered with many pieces of wood. Life jackets with the names of North Korean places written in Korean, cigarettes apparently made in North Korea and what looked like a Global Positioning System device have also been found.

On Sunday, a wooden boat was found washed up on coast of Oga, Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The boat has an eight-digit figure written on the bow, according to local police.

The police are investigating whether there is any suspicious person around the site.

The discovery came after a wooden boat was found on the coast of Akita city of Yurihonjo on Thursday. Eight men who claim to be from North Korea were taken into protective custody.

Also on Sunday, a 4-meter-by-2-meter part of a wooden boat of unidentified nationality was found adrift near a beach in the town of Matsumae, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan.

Oga, Yurihonjo and Matsumae all face the Sea of Japan, which separates Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Jiji Press