A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel approaches a North Korean fishing boat to warn it to leave waters near Yamatotai [Japan Coast Guard via AP]
Japan says patrol boat collide North Korean squid fishing vessel
JAPAN
Tuesday, October 08, 2019, 10:00 (GMT + 9)
The incident on the Noto Peninsula occurs when Tokyo intensifies patrols against poachers in North Korea.
The Japanese Fisheries Agency says its patrol boat and a North Korean fishing boat have collided in waters off Japan's northern coast crowded with poachers from the North.
In pink the area where North Korea fishing vesses catch squid (Photo: courtesy NNnewsCH)
The agency said that Monday's collision occurred in the area known as Yamatotai, off Japan's northern coast of the Noto Peninsula.
The agency said the Japanese patrol ship was not damaged and as a result of the collision the North Korean fishing vessel was left half-submerged with 20 crew members flung overboard and into the sea.
Japan has stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean squid poaching has surged.
On the morning of the 7th, the Fisheries Agency's control boat collided with a North Korean fishing boat off the coast of Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. (Photo: courtesy NNnewsCH)
Experts say the increase is due to a campaign by Pyongyang to boost fish harvests.
Japan's coast guard in June pushed more than 300 North Korean boats back from the same waters.
Japan also said an armed North Korean fishing boat "threatened" a Japanese patrol ship in August.
Source: AP News agency
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