North Korean Boat Strays Into Japan Coast, 8 Held 

Tokyo: Eight men claiming to be from N.Korea and a boat was found on the coast of Japan's Akita prefecture, police said on Friday. The police received a report of the men at a marina in Yurihonjo city late Thursday night, reports public broadcaster NHK.

They were immediately taken into custody and a Korean interpreter has been brought in to help with obtaining details of their story. It is not known whether the men intend to stay in Japan or return to North Korea. Japan regularly sees North Korean fishing boats straying into its territory, and its coastguard has occasionally had to rescue fishermen, the BBC reported.

Defections by boat to Japan are not common given the distance, though it has happened before - in 2011, nine North Koreans tried to sail to South Korea but ended up across the sea in Japan.

IANS