Row over North Korean ferry

JAPAN barred a North Korean ferry suspected of smuggling missile parts and illicit funds from leaving port on Sunday, after the controversial ship failed increased safety inspections.

The white-hulled Mangyongbong-92, with North Korea’s red star emblazoned on its funnel, has long been a focus of suspicion during its regular visits to the northern Japanese port of Niigata. But tensions have peaked amid new allegations the boat is a conduit for communist espionage.

The visit, the first in seven months, tested already icy relations between Japan and North Korea just days before top diplomats from the neighbouring nations meet at six-nation talks in Beijing on Pyongyang’s suspected nuclear weapons programs.