“Unidentified Boat Is Known to Have Communicated with North Korea“

Japanese press reported on 26th that Japanese Defense Ministry had picked up the radio communications between the sunken boat and North Korea, and it had kept a vigil over the boat from early on after the U.S. had informed. The boat was reported to have departed from Nampo harbor of North Korea early December.

The Sankei Shimbun reported that the tapping forces of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, which is located at Gikai Island in Amami Oshima Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, intercepted the radio communication between the boat and North Korea on 19th, three days before it sank.

And NHK also reported that the monitoring force of Kanoya Base in Kagoshima also intercepted the radio signals between the unidentified ship and North Korea on 20th.

The radio frequency that the boat used was the same as the one that the Labor Party of North Korea used, and was not an acoustic signal but a mechanical one. An official of the Defense Ministry stated, "Although the monitored content cannot be revealed to the public, it seemed to be related to the drug smugglings."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forces had detected an unidentified boat approaching to Amami Oshima on a reconnaissance satellite on 18th, and informed it to Japanese Defense Ministry with video materials.

NHK added, "U.S. Forces informed that the boat had departed from Nampo harbor in North Korea early December."

ksshim@donga.com