A controversial North Korean ferry docked in a Japanese port yesterday for the first time this year to protests over Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese and concern over a possible nuclear test.
The Mangyongbong-92, suspected of having helped Pyongyang's smuggling and spying operations, sailed into the Niigata port, some 200km northwest of Tokyo, a port official said.
The ship, carrying 24 passengers and 19 tonnes of cargo, met angry protests by scores of people upon its arrival as dozens of inspectors marched onto the ship.
"Return the kidnapped people!" protesters shouted in an angry chorus as they raised their fists in the air.
Protester Teruaki Masumoto, whose sister was abducted by North Korea, asked: "Does the government intend to bring back the kidnapping victims?"
"I am mortified and sad every time the ship enters," he said.
Masumoto said the government should declare it is ready to impose economic sanctions on Pyongyang "in order to make them sit at the table to talk."
"I think it is necessary to declare that intention even if stopping short of actually launching sanctions. I want the prime minister to make the decision," he said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has resisted calls to punish North Korea, calling for both "dialogue and pressure" in dealing with Pyongyang.
The Mangyongbong-92 is a vital economic link for the isolated communist state and its port call, the first since December, came after Japan gave docking permission after verifying that it had proper insurance.
Japan stiffened inspections of the boat after a North Korean defector and scientist told a US congressional hearing in 2003 that most of the missile parts he used were smuggled from Japan aboard the ship.
Japan since March has required large foreign vessels to prove they are insured against oil spills, a move widely seen as indirect sanctions aimed at pressuring North Korea over its past abductions of Japanese people.
The ferry will sail back to North Korea today, carrying 220 passengers and a cargo of 72.57 tonnes, the port official said.
It plans to dock another five times between this month and next but the ferry needs to seek permission each time.
The ferry has often been used by ethnic Koreans living in Japan to carry cash, electronics and other items sorely needed in the impoverished state, which is locked in a standoff over its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea admitted in 2002 that it kidnapped Japanese people up until the 1980s to train its spies in Japanese language and culture. It allowed five victims and their families to leave in exchange for aid.
But Japan believes that other victims are still alive.
RSS