North Korean 'ghost ship' washes up in Japan with dead fisherman on board

A North Korean ghost ship has washed up in Japan after dozens of the vessels drifted ashore in November.

The 35ft boat (10.7m), bearing Korean alphabet characters, was discovered on a beach in central Niigata prefecture early Tuesday, CNN reported.

The body of a man, wearing a pin bearing the image of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, was found on board and another body was found floating off shore.

It is just the latest in a string of grim discoveries of North Korean vessels along the Japanese coast.

Last month, 28 boats were discovered, including one containing the skeletal remains of eight people. In the same month last year, just four vessels were found.

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Analysts believe boat crews are being pushed to take more risks - venturing further out and in dangerous conditions - to bring in food.

It comes after the international community tightened sanctions on the country because of Kim Jong-un repeatedly testing missiles.

Exacerbating the phenomenon is the fact that North Korea has sold fishing rights to China in a bid to raise hard currency, forcing fishermen further out.

Japanese authorities are also holding 18 people who claim to be North Korean from two other boats.

The body of a man wearing a lapel pin bearing the image of Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder, was discovered on board the partially-destroyed boat. Photo / Getty Images

The first batch of 10 landed on a small uninhabited island off southern Hokkaido on a damaged fishing boat and allegedly stole electronic appliances and other items from an unmanned shelter while temporarily taking refuge from rough seas.

Japan's coastguard rescued them in November.

Eight other survivors managed to reach shore in Akita on a ragged boat, which is believed to have fallen apart and sunk soon after they were rescued, have been transferred to immigration custody.

Japanese officials said the 10 are being investigated for possible theft, and the other eight are expected to be sent home via China.

The last time a large number of vessels washed ashore in Japan was in 2015, when about a dozen boats - many containing bodies - arrived.

Reports at the time claimed the bodies could belong to desperate fishermen driven into treacherous waters by food shortages. Others suggested a refugee exodus from the hermit state.

Pyongyang has denied any of its fishermen were trying to flee, and said all deaths had come as the result of navigational errors.