Bodies of 2 Crewmen Found After 4 Months

Photo: A starboard bow view of the North Korean Cargo Ship TAE GAK BONG underway.

Two partially decomposed bodies of North Korean mariners have been discovered in separate locations in Japan.

Their cargo ship TAEGAKBONG went missing in late December. Reported engine failure sent the ship adrift after its steering controls and navigation systems were disabled.

The first body was found on Saturday in Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture. The Japan Daily Press reported that he still had a North Korean loyalty badge and $290 in U.S. currency in his possession. The second one was found a day later near Japan’s Oga Peninsula. He was holding a metal tube with photos of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Un, which they think was taken from the ship’s bridge, believing it will protect him or maybe just out of loyalty to their presidents.

24 other crewmembers escaped aboard a life raft during the incident last December, and it is still not known if they were rescued by North Korean authorities. The fate of the ship and its cargo is also unknown, although it is publicly listed as “under repair” on North Korea’s west coast.