The bodies of two North Korean sailors from the missing cargo ship Taegakbong turned up in separate locations in Japan, almost four months after the ship went missing in late December. The ship went adrift when engine failure caused its navigation systems and steering controls to be disabled.
The first partially decomposed body was found on Saturday in Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture. He still had a North Korean loyalty badge and $290 in U.S. currency in his possession.
The second one was discovered on Sunday near Japan’s Oga Peninsula. He was clutching a metal tube with photos of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Un, which they think was taken from the ship’s bridge, believing it will protect him or maybe just out of loyalty to their presidents.
24 crew members escaped aboard a life raft last December, and it is still not known if the rest of the crew escaped or were rescued by North Korean authorities. Also unknown is the fate of the ship and its cargo, although it is publicly listed as “under repair” on North Korea’s west coast.
It isn’t the first time that the bodies of North Korean sailors have washed up on Japanese shores. Last December, three bodies in a partially capsized boat were discovered by the Japanese Coast Guard off the coast of central Japan.
Previously, another boat with a dead body was discovered near Sado Island and another boat with Korean markings and five deceased bodies of fishermen turned up in Japanese waters. Unless you’re a conspiracy theorist or a horror movie aficionado, none of these incidents seem to be in any way related.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
http://japandailypress.com/two-north-korean-sailors-from-missing-ship-turn-up-dead-in-japanese-waters-3027986
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