North Korea demands Japan pay compensation for sinking fishing boat

Above, the fishing boat which collided with a Japanese patrol vessel off the northwestern coast of the Noto Peninsula in Japan. (Fisheries Agency via AP)

Crew members of Japan’s Fisheries Agency rescue North Korean fishermen whose boat collided with a Japanese patrol vessel. (Fisheries Agency via AP)

• Tokyo should take steps to prevent future incidents, says North Korea foreign ministry statement
• Japanese coast guard rescued about 60 North Korean crew members from a fishing boat that sank after colliding with a patrol boat

SEOUL: North Korea’s foreign ministry “strongly demanded” on Saturday that Japan pay compensation for a fishing boat that sank when it collided with a Japanese patrol boat earlier this week, North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.
The collision on Monday was deliberate and “a gangster act” by Japan and Tokyo should take steps to prevent future incidents, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by KCNA.
The Japanese coast guard said on Monday it rescued about 60 North Korean crew members from a fishing boat that sank after it collided with the patrol boat that was chasing it out of Japanese waters.