Update 2 on the North Korean Boat Defectors to Japan
by Richardson ~ June 6th, 2007. Filed under: Defectors & Refugees, Hunger & Famine, Japan.Japan Times: N. Korea family was desperate to escape
One was found to be carrying a small amount of amphetamines, saying he needed the drug to keep him awake while steering the boat, according to police.
Kyodo: Japan uncertain when to send 4 N. Korean ‘defectors’ to S. Korea
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday that the timing of Japan sending four people thought to be North Korean defectors to South Korea remains undecided due to suspicion they may not be real refugees.
Asahi: Defectors took large supply of costly fuel
About 90 liters of diesel oil, an extremely expensive commodity in North Korea, was found on the boat of four defectors, raising doubts about the impoverished life they said they had fled, investigators said… the fishing boat was initially loaded with 200 liters of diesel oil, which by one estimate was worth 16 years of an average North Korean worker’s wages. Investigators plan to find out how the family could have bought the fuel and made other preparations for the getaway, despite the severe living conditions they said they endured back home.
Kyodo: 4 N. Korean defectors sent to immigration center in Ushiku
Four people believed to be a family of North Koreans seeking asylum left Wednesday morning a police station in Aomori Prefecture. . . to be transported to a facility of the Justice Ministry’s Immigration Bureau in Ibaraki Prefecture. . . The police said the four underwent a health checkup on Tuesday and were found to have no health problems. . . Wednesday was the limit for the period the police could hold them under the law.
Asahi: Defectors give grim account of life in N. Korea
The boat used for the voyage was clearly suited only to coastal trips. It was equipped with an outboard motor that had to be started manually and had a wooden oar to steer it. Police found a compass aboard the boat. According to witnesses, the family members arrived with pickles in a plastic bag and sausages. They also had five or so clothing items placed at the bottom of the boat and a large plastic sheet that was probably used to shield them from rain. Police also found an umbrella, towels and protective rain gear on the boat.
June 6th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
i’m sure that greater than 99% of them are genuine seekers of better life. but i can’t help but to think that among those people, might not there be a spy among them sent out by the dprk themselves ?
June 6th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
ghola,
I think you’re right; there are a helluva lot better ways to infiltrate spies than to end up all over the news for weeks, perhaps becoming well-known suspected spies in the process.
Concerning the fuel oil, I’ll make the obvious guess that the stole it right before or as the left. If there are fishing boats in the community, there was probably some sort of fuel cache. If they aren’t spies – and I don’t think they are – probably a lot of angry fishermen in their former village
The meth raises a few question; was obtained just for the trip; something he did sometimes/often; if he didn’t do it occasionally, how did he know where to obtain it?
I’m also sure that there are many spies sent by the North Korean regime as normal defectors to the south. It only makes sense that they would at least try to do so.
Probably the NIS is running circles with the influx of defectors over the past few years.
June 8th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
[…] Richardson • China Claims Even More Korean History 4 Jon, Kevin, Richardson […] • Update 2 on the North Korean Boat Defectors to Japan 2 Richardson, ghola Asides » From the Joongang Ilbo: “’The Korean […]
June 10th, 2007 at 11:11 am
[…] pressure is so great that North Koreans are now fleeing on boat to Japan (here, here and here). Japanese authorities have doubted if the 4 were spies (they had wristwatches, an […]