Free Republic

The least luxurious cruise in the world: North Korea launches its first liner (where cabins are shared and the ship is rusty) The liner is rusty, the cabins are cramped and the Captain's Table is a help yourself buffet. But though the surroundings are less than glamorous, North Korea hopes to launch itself into the world of cruising with ageing liner the Mangyongbong. The former cargo ship set sail on its maiden tour yesterday carrying about 130 passengers from the rundown port of Rajin, near the China-Russia border. Some 500 North Koreans, about half dressed in dark workers clothes and...

Coastguards swarm over N.Korea ship entering Japan TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - A North Korean cargo ship steamed into a port in northern Japan on Thursday under the watchful gaze of dozens of officials standing ready to inspect it. The 27,050-tonne Hwangkumsan arrived empty at Naoetsu port on the Japan Sea coast to collect a cargo of about 40 used cars. Shortly after it docked about 30 immigration, coast guard and customs officers boarded it for an inspection which officials said was on a scale "larger than usual." Japan tightened inspections of North Korean ships after a North Korean defector...

The government and concerned public organizations are preparing to keep a close eye on the Man Gyong Bong-92, a North Korean passenger-cargo ship, after an agent for the ship applied Tuesday for permission for the ship to call at Niigata-Nishi Port on Aug. 25. The central government, the Japan Coast Guard, the Immigration Bureau, the Customs and Tariff Bureau and other concerned organizations confirmed plans to implement a strict watch on and inspection of the ship when it docks at Niigata-Nishi Port. The government is determined to carry out inspections even if Pyongyang demands that Japan stop or relax...