Japan plans to search North Korean boat

Japan plans to search North Korean boat

Authorities planned to search a North Korean ship that entered a Japanese harbor on suspicion that it was smuggling illegal drugs, a Japan Coast Guard official said Friday.

The ship entered the harbor of Sakai in the western prefecture of Tottori, which borders the Sea of Japan across from the Korean Peninsula, Coast Guard official Yuzuru Kubota said.

The search will be carried out in a joint effort by Coast Guard officials, local police and investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Kubota said. Kyodo News reported that police received a tipoff that the boat was carrying illegal drugs.

I.L.