[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]by Niall McCarthy,
Large numbers of North Korean fishing boats are washing up along the Japanese coast, some of which have contained decaying corpses. In November of this year alone, 28 of the so-called “ghost ships” were discovered by Japanese authorities with 42 people who claim to be fishermen found alive. 18 bodies have also been recovered so far.
The grim discoveries suggest that the situation in North Korea is becoming desperate with sanctions and food shortages likely driving fishermen further out to sea to secure bigger catches. So far this year, 64 “ghost ships” have washed up along the Japanese coast and last year, the number was 66. 2013 was a particularly bad year with 80 vessels discovered by Japanese authorities.
