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.

After safety and customs inspections, Japanese authorities said there was a problem with five points, and that the ship couldn’t leave for its home port of Wonsan, North Korea, until they were fixed. It had been scheduled to leave yesterday morning.

A spokesman for the General Association for Korean Residents in Japan, a pro-Pyongyang group, criticised the decision and said ferry operators would try to fix the problems in time.

“Japanese authorities appear intent on suspending the ship’s scheduled departure in one way or another,” the spokesman said. “This is nothing but harassment.”

Japanese officials, from the transportation, health and justice ministries, had promised to search every inch of the ship for everything from illicit drugs to illegal immigrants, while also checking for routine safety inspections and even rodent infestations.

If violations were found, Japan warned that the ship could be detained or sent home without picking up its North Korea-bound passengers and cargo.