[Japanese] Coast Guard finds weapons, bodies on spy ship

KAGOSHIMA -- Rocket launchers, automatic rifles and ammunition have been recovered from a rogue ship salvaged off Amami Oshima Island, authorities said Thursday.

A Japan Coast Guard (JCG) spokesman also revealed that so far 10 bodies have been spotted in and around the boat since the search began in February, although only four of them have been recovered.

The armory included a portable surface-to-air rocket launcher, another rocket-firing device and an AK-74 rifle. The assault rifle was previously believed to be an old-Soviet style AK-47 widely available throughout the developing world, including North Korea. But officials concluded that it was actually the improved AK-74, of which availability in the communist regime was not previously known to the West.

No bodies were found when the rogue ship was raised Wednesday. JCG officials said they could have been washed away except for one, which is still believed to be trapped inside the boat's engine room.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to raise the issue during his scheduled summit talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Sept. 17.

Sources said there are concerns within the government that making the rogue ship an issue during the talks, in addition to the search for Japanese nationals believed to be abducted by Pyongyang agents, would be detrimental to Tokyo's attempt to normalize diplomatic ties between the two neighbors.

However, the sheer volume of North Korea-related articles found on the salvaged ship has made it an issue impossible to ignore on Sept. 17.

The government plans not to make an official announcement about the origin of the ship until after the end of the summit. (Compiled from the Mainichi and wire reports, Sept. 17, 2002)

N. Korean AK-47 rifle found on sunken spy ship

North Korean markings have been found on an AK-47 assault rifle retrieved from a suspected spy ship that sunk in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) vessel, it has been learned.


	Courtesy of Masami Tokoi
	An AK-47 assault rifle and North Korean markings.

The finding follows discoveries of a bag of sweets from the North Korean city of Pyongyang and cigarettes that only high-ranking Pyongyang officials could afford to buy, and is further evidence that the sunken ship originated from North Korea, investigative officials said.

Officials said the weapon was retrieved during underwater salvaging work on the rogue vessel on May 5. They said it was possible it was one of the weapons that crewmembers had used to fire shots at the JCG patrol boat.

The rifle was an AK-47 model -- a weapon developed in the former Soviet Union, but produced under license in such countries as China and North Korea. AK-47 rifles produced in North Korea are also used in countries including Iran, Iraq and Peru, and are reportedly available on the black market in other countries.

Although the rifle found on the suspected spy ship was badly corroded, officials were reportedly able to detect a mark on it -- a star within a circle -- indicating that it was produced in North Korea.

The gun battle between the ship and the JCG vessel erupted inside China's exclusive economic zone on the night of Dec. 22 last year after the unidentified ship was sandwiched by JCG ships that had chased it from Japanese territorial waters.

Coast guard officials said at least two men suddenly opened fire at the surrounding patrol ships with automatic weapons. A rocket was then fired from the suspicious ship, but did not hit the JCG vessels.

After the fierce gun battle, the suspected spy ship mysteriously sunk. The JCG suspects that the ship's crew may have blown up the vesssel. Two JCG officers were injured in the gun battle.

Japan decided to salvage the ship in May after obtaining permission from the Chinese government because the area is located inside China's exclusive economic zone. (Mainichi Shimbun, June 27, 2002)

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200207/15/20020715p2a00m0fp014000c.html

Coast Guard finds small spy boat inside salvaged ship

KAGOSHIMA -- A ship that sank off Kagoshima Prefecture late last year and was raised Wednesday is likely to be a spy ship from North Korea as a small boat apparently to send agents ashore was found inside, officials said.


	Mainichi Shimbun
	The suspected spy ship is brought to the surface in the East China Sea on Wednesday.

The Japan Coast Guard's (JCG) 10th Coast Guard Headquarters raised the suspicious ship shortly before 1 p.m. off Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, JCG officials said.

After raising the ship, officials searched the ship and found a small boat equipped with three engines behind the double doors of the ship's stern.

Because the small boat could have been used to send agents ashore, the officials believe the ship likely came on a spy mission.

The JCG and prefectural police will further examine the vessel after it has been transported to Kagoshima Prefecture in a bid to exactly identify its nationality and clarify the purpose of its intrusion into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Investigators believe that the vessel was secretly dispatched to Japan in a bid to smuggle illegal drugs into the country, or to send and pick up North Korean spies.

Workers on salvage ships began the operation in the East China Sea about 390 kilometers west-northwest of Amami Oshima Island to raise the ship sunk on the 90-meter-deep sea floor. The area is within China's EEZ.

In three days time, the ship will be brought to Kagoshima Bay where investigators will see if it contains explosives or other dangerous articles. If it is confirmed safe, JCG and police will raise the ship onto the ground to examine it.

The sunken ship is believed to be about 30 meters long, 5 meters wide and 2.6 meters high, and weigh approximately 100 tons. The vessel's body is blue and its bow bears a Chinese name.

Divers have already recovered a ground-to-air missile and a rocket launcher from the area where the ship sank.

The heavily armed rogue ship sank on Dec. 22 last year after engaging in an intense battle with several JCG ships following a daylong chase. Crewmembers of the spy ship fired rockets at the coast guard ships but they missed their target by whiskers because of heavy seas.

The unidentified ship exploded and sunk after a JCG ship returned fire with a 20-millimeter cannon. JCG suspect crewmembers of the rouge ship may have blown it up. (Mainichi Shimbun, Sept. 11, 2002)

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20020911p2a00m0fp005005c.html

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	Mainichi Shimbun
	Rocket launchers, automatic rifles and ammunition have been recovered from the raised ship while many of the bodies have been washed away.