Remains of 7 bodies in a wooden boat have been washed ashore the coast of Sado Island in the Sea of Japan.
NHK World reports that a police officer on patrol found the close to shore of the Sobama District of Sado City, Japan on Friday.
It was suspected that the bow was part of a North Korean boat.
The Coast Guard and police found seven partially skeletonized bodies inside the vessel during a search on Saturday morning.
The bow measures about 7.6 meters long, 4.3 meters wide and 2 meters high. On the side of it are Korean characters and numbers painted in red.
Coast Guard officers say a number of wooden boats from the North wash ashore around this time of year after being blown off course by northwesterly winds.