8 men thought to be N. Koreans washed ashore in Japan

A wooden boat carrying eight men claiming to be fishermen from North Korea has washed ashore in Japan’s Akita Prefecture, police said according to Kyodo. Responding to a call, the police found the men on the coast near the town of Yurihonjo late on Thursday. The men, said to be in good condition, spoke what seemed to be Korean, the police said. Hachiro Okonogi, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, told reporters that the eight men said they had been fishing when the boat’s propeller stopped and they drifted ashore.