Police: N. Korean family faced sea in small boat

Police: N. Korean family faced sea in small boat


POSTED: 0553 GMT (1353 HKT), June 3, 2007
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GOSHOGAWARA, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan is likely to offer temporary protection to four people believed to have fled North Korea who are seeking asylum in the South after they arrived by boat at a Japanese port, Japanese officials said on Sunday.
The three men and a woman, who were taken into Japanese custody on Saturday, claimed to be a family, a police official said. They told authorities they had been out at sea in the small wooden boat since May 27 after leaving North Korea for the South.
They told Japanese officials they had left Chongjin on the east coast and headed south, but then changed course due to heavy security and ended up at Fukaura in Japan's Aomori prefecture, 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east, the police official added.
"They are seeking protection and this is not a criminal case, but rather a humanitarian issue," said the official.
"We are discussing with immigration and Foreign Ministry officials towards granting them protection."
A government official in Tokyo also said Japanese authorities were holding talks over how to best serve the four's interest.
Asked about the latest case, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said the wishes of the four should be upheld.
"I understand they will be treated according to humanitarian principles and according to their wishes," he told reporters in South Korea.
Japan can grant asylum-seekers a six-month stay permit under its immigration law, and a 2006 "North Korean human rights" law also states that the government must take measures to protect and support defectors from North Korea.
In the past North Korean defectors have fled to Japanese missions and other premises in China, and Tokyo allowed them to leave for third countries.
It is rare for North Koreans to flee to Japan, and it could worsen relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang -- which have no diplomatic ties -- if North Korea demands their return.
In 1987, Pyongyang asked Tokyo to return the crew of a North Korean boat who had sought asylum in South Korea after docking at a port in western Japan, but Tokyo allowed them to leave for the South via Taiwan.
Japan is also feuding with North Korea over the fate of Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago by Pyongyang's agents to help train spies.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that until the abduction issue has been resolved, Japan will not provide funds for a multilateral deal clinched in February, by which Pyongyang agreed to scrap its nuclear arms program in return for energy aid.
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