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Japanese Coast Guard Sinks North Korean Spy Ship
Published 2 years ago
Footage from the Japanese Self Defense Force and Japanese Coast Guard shows a brief snippet of the Battle of Amami-Ōshima, where the Japanese Coast Guard had a six-hour standoff with a North Korean spy ship.
On December 21, 2001, an unidentified fishing vessel was spotted off the coast of Japan. Multiple attempts were made by Japanese forces to hail the ship, however no response was ever provided. Early the next morning, the Japanese Coast Guard responded to investigate the situation they found that the ship was occupied by approximately 15 people of unknown origin. The crew of the ship refused to comply with orders to halt, and were eventually given warning shots across their bow.
The unidentified ship then returned fire with machine guns on the Japanese Coast Guard vessel and a six-hour long firefight ensued. At the conclusion of the battle, the North Korean ship was set ablaze, and the crew members were seen clinging to life on a buoy. The Japanese Coast Guard had sustained 3 wounded in the gunfight and were ordered to abandon the North Korean spies to their fate on open waters due to the possibility of them taking control of the lone Japanese Coast Guard ship.
Over a year later in 2003 the ship would be raised, and the Japanese would confirm that it originated from North Korea.
This footage is a brief snippet of the six-hour firefight between the two ships.
