TOKYO, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Nine people in a boat, believed to be North Korean defectors, were rescued off the Japanese coast, the Japanese Coast Guard said.
The boat, carrying three men, three women and three children, was found off the Noto Peninsula in the Ishikawa Prefecture by local fishermen who messaged the Coast Guard, which then dispatched a vessel with officers, Kyodo News reported.
One of the men on the boat was quoted as saying: "The nine people are family and relatives. I belong to the North Korean military."
The report said the defectors' small wooden boat, inscribed with Korean characters, carried rice and picked vegetables, but did not have a GPS system and none of the passengers had life jackets.
The boat was towed to Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the defectors were being questioned.
Kyodo said North Korean defectors normally seek to escape to diplomatic and consular offices in China but rarely try to go to Japan.
The New York Times reported the defectors' boat, with no engine, was found drifting about 500 miles off the coast. The Times said it was not clear how long the defectors had been at sea but all appeared to be in good health.
One of the men was quoted as saying all of them had planned to drift to South Korea but ended up off the Japanese coast. The Japanese Coast Guard said the group's leader indicated the family members still want to go to South Korea.
