Why are North Korean ‘ghost ships’ with decaying corpses arriving on Japan's coasts?

Dec 08, 2017 05:43 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

The reason behind such ‘ghost ship’ appearances has a lot to do with North Korea’s ambition of becoming a nuclear state.

Between 2011 and today, more than 400 fishing boats from North Korea, some carrying decaying corpses, have reached the coasts of Japan.

In 2013, as many as 80 such boats reached Japanese shores.

In November this year, 28 of these so-called 'ghost ships' were discovered by Japanese authorities. About 42 people who claim to be fishermen on these boats were found alive and 18 dead bodies have been recovered so far this year.

The reason behind such ‘ghost ship’ appearances has a lot to do with North Korea’s ambition of becoming a nuclear state, which it recently claimed to have achieved.

North Korea’s missile tests, in defiance of international pressure, have attracted a number of strict economic sanctions from the United Nations that have been aimed at containing the  country.

SLIDESHOW: North Korea: Why Kim Jong-un won’t ever give up his nuclear weapons

The sanctions have allegedly hit supplies in North Korea.

A report in Japan Times said that North Korean crew from one such fishing boat admitted to stealing appliances from a refuge hut on islet off Hokkaido in Japan.

After the end of the Korean War in 1953, a Northern Limit Line – a maritime demarcation — was created between North and South Korea. The border is not officially recognised by North Korea and hence fishing boats are accompanied by the North Korean naval boats along the line.

The crossover of boats has increased lately and things have gotten worse since North Korea’s longtime ally – China – supported the global sanctions earlier this year.

Notably, North Korea depends a lot on China for its trade and supplies. In fact, over 80 percent of its trade – including export and import - in 2015 emanated from China.

But those were somewhat rosier times.

India, in line with United Nations sanctions on North Korea, agreed to ban all trade with the country this year in May barring food and medicine supplies.

With its most recent test, North Korea has managed to offend the US along with a bunch of other nations.

But at the end of the day, it is the citizens of North Korea who are struggling amid international sanctions and Kim Jong-un’s leadership.