[BLASTER 14]

I would bet this was a drug delivery.

My reasoning: I remember the Soviet "trawlers" off the end of the runway at Andersen AFB on Guam. They were literally covered with antennas of all types. The NK ship in the photos appears to have nothing more than the masts (cranes?) fore and aft. No antennas in sight.

Of course, I'm not a spook. Maybe they have come up with a way to hide antennas. The above is just an observation.

[AmericanInTokyo]

The other two DPRK ports traditionally used to dispatch spy ships are Chonjin, and Wonsan. These are on the East Coast. Do try to get down to Kagoshima prefecture from there, means they have to go through the Tsushima straits and they would be picked up by Japan MSDF or Coast Guard. So it is looking more and more like the came out of Nanpo on the west coast, went south into Chinese territorial waters, then headed back up for Japan. The Japanese picked up their communications with Pyongyang after sighting them and taking pics.

[HiJinx]

Looks to be a fair amount of antenna structure atop the trawler amidships, including a dome or two...

Some air forces in the world are placing conformal antennas in aircraft doors, depending upon frequency band and other considerations.