Three of 12 missing N. Korean fishermen found dead: Japan

Three of 12 North Korean fishermen missing after their boat capsized in high seas were found dead on Friday, Japan's coastguard said, adding that four separate bodies were found in another overturned vessel nearby. The coastguard found the three bodies inside the upset boat in waters 360 kilometres (225 miles) northwest of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Japanese patrol boats and aircraft were searching for the missing seamen after they rescued three fishermen clinging to the hull of the boat who said they were part of a crew of 15. The rescued trio have already returned to North Korea in line with their wishes, the coastguard said. The troubled boat was spotted on Wednesday by a Japanese Self Defense Force jet patrolling the Sea of Japan (East Sea). "We are still searching for the remaining nine crew members near the site," a coastguard spokesman said. Separately, the coastguard on Friday found four male bodies inside another capsized fishing boat some 50 kilometres away from the site. "The four men have yet to be identified, but we believe the four people are not part of the original missing crew," the spokesman said. Public broadcaster NHK said Japanese authorities suspect the four victims were also North Korean nationals. Japan and North Korea have tense relations, with Pyongyang routinely issuing verbal threats as well as firing missiles near or above Japan. But the Japanese coastguard occasionally rescues North Korean fishermen in maritime accidents in regional waters.