Boat towed by North Korean cargo ship sinks off Japan; 1 missing

A boat carrying four crew members sank Thursday while being towed by a North Korean cargo ship off Japan's northwestern coast, leaving one person missing after the Japan Coast Guard rescued three.

North Korea’s Rescue Coordination Center notified Japan’s Coast Guard regional headquarters in Kyoto that four crew members had fallen overboard approximately 64 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Nishinoshima, one of the Oki islands. The incident occurred within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The Japan Coast Guard dispatched patrol vessels and aircraft for search and rescue operations. They recovered three crew members; two were conscious, but a third was presumed dead. Officials are investigating the nationalities of the crew members and whether their sunken boat was connected to the North Korean cargo ship "Kum Ya."