North Korea ordeal over for Chinese fishermen
By Yang Jian |
May 22, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A CHINESE fishing boat and its crew are on their way home after being held captive in North Korea since May 5.
No ransom had been paid, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing yesterday. The boat's owner, Yu Xuejun, said earlier the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$97,700).
Yu said the captain had been beaten up by men in North Korean military uniforms during their time in captivity and the fuel onboard stolen.
Yu said the captors "looked like soldiers, and the captain said they had guns and used force to take over the boat."
The captain had suffered an arm injury but had since recovered, Yu said. No other crew member had been harmed.
The 16 crew had been allowed to move around the boat by day but were locked in a room at night, Yu said.
"The fishermen are to continue fishing on the sea before heading back to China," Yu added.
"The North Koreans only left the crew with one sack of rice and one sack of flour. But this shouldn't be a problem as there are a lot of boats in that region now, all from Dalian," he said, referring to the northeast China port where his boat is based. "With their help, the crews will do OK for the next 8 or 10 days."
Yu said the North Koreans took about 5 tons of light diesel oil and 6 barrels of gasoline and food, but navigation and communication equipment that was initially taken was returned.
On Monday, Hong had urged North Korea to safeguard the health and legitimate rights and interests of the detained Chinese fishermen.
He declined to answer a question about who exactly China believed was behind the boat seizure, but made it clear that Beijing was looking for the North Korean government to secure the release of the boat and crew.
Yu posted coordinates on his microblog indicating the seizure took place about 100 kilometers from the westernmost point of North Korea and about 190 kilometers from Dalian.
That area is outside both countries' territorial waters - defined as 12 nautical miles from their shores - but within their overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones, which give them rights to resources including fishing, The Associated Press reported. Jurisdictions in overlapping zones are not always clear.
Yu's pleas for help and his worries that the crew might be mistreated were forwarded thousands of times on the Internet, and a high-ranking Chinese military officer, Major General Luo Yuan, wrote on Sina Weibo of his fury over the detention.
In his online post, the military microblogger, who has more than 300,000 followers, wrote: "North Korea has gone too far. Even if you are short of money, you can't grab people across the border for blackmail."
One of China's North Korea watchers said rogue border guards were probably responsible, rather than the Pyongyang government itself, according to AP.
Lu Chao, an expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in northeast China, said he doubted the North Korean government would have had any knowledge of the incident when it happened.
"This incident is purely about a lawless act by the North Korean border police to blackmail our fishermen," Lu said, adding that such things frequently happened to Chinese fishermen working close to North Korean waters.
"Sometimes, if the amount they are asking for isn't too high, the boat owner would just pay it," he said. This time, it might be related to spring food shortages, "so they are asking for a huge ransom."
Yu said that he was contacted by the kidnappers and told to pay the ransom or they would "confiscate the boat and discharge the crew." The caller claimed the boat had been confiscated because it had entered North Korean territory.
"They initially demanded 1.2 million yuan to give back the boat and that changed to 800,000 yuan and finally to 600,000 yuan after being refused," Yu said.
He was not certain of the kidnappers' identity, but told reporters he suspected they were associated with the North Korean army.
About a year ago, 29 fishermen were kidnapped by North Koreans who demanded a 1.2 million yuan ransom but returned without a ransom being paid after China's foreign ministry contacted North Korea.
The fishermen said they had been starved and beaten.
No ransom had been paid, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing yesterday. The boat's owner, Yu Xuejun, said earlier the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$97,700).
Yu said the captain had been beaten up by men in North Korean military uniforms during their time in captivity and the fuel onboard stolen.
Yu said the captors "looked like soldiers, and the captain said they had guns and used force to take over the boat."
The captain had suffered an arm injury but had since recovered, Yu said. No other crew member had been harmed.
The 16 crew had been allowed to move around the boat by day but were locked in a room at night, Yu said.
"The fishermen are to continue fishing on the sea before heading back to China," Yu added.
"The North Koreans only left the crew with one sack of rice and one sack of flour. But this shouldn't be a problem as there are a lot of boats in that region now, all from Dalian," he said, referring to the northeast China port where his boat is based. "With their help, the crews will do OK for the next 8 or 10 days."
Yu said the North Koreans took about 5 tons of light diesel oil and 6 barrels of gasoline and food, but navigation and communication equipment that was initially taken was returned.
On Monday, Hong had urged North Korea to safeguard the health and legitimate rights and interests of the detained Chinese fishermen.
He declined to answer a question about who exactly China believed was behind the boat seizure, but made it clear that Beijing was looking for the North Korean government to secure the release of the boat and crew.
Yu posted coordinates on his microblog indicating the seizure took place about 100 kilometers from the westernmost point of North Korea and about 190 kilometers from Dalian.
That area is outside both countries' territorial waters - defined as 12 nautical miles from their shores - but within their overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones, which give them rights to resources including fishing, The Associated Press reported. Jurisdictions in overlapping zones are not always clear.
Yu's pleas for help and his worries that the crew might be mistreated were forwarded thousands of times on the Internet, and a high-ranking Chinese military officer, Major General Luo Yuan, wrote on Sina Weibo of his fury over the detention.
In his online post, the military microblogger, who has more than 300,000 followers, wrote: "North Korea has gone too far. Even if you are short of money, you can't grab people across the border for blackmail."
One of China's North Korea watchers said rogue border guards were probably responsible, rather than the Pyongyang government itself, according to AP.
Lu Chao, an expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in northeast China, said he doubted the North Korean government would have had any knowledge of the incident when it happened.
"This incident is purely about a lawless act by the North Korean border police to blackmail our fishermen," Lu said, adding that such things frequently happened to Chinese fishermen working close to North Korean waters.
"Sometimes, if the amount they are asking for isn't too high, the boat owner would just pay it," he said. This time, it might be related to spring food shortages, "so they are asking for a huge ransom."
Yu said that he was contacted by the kidnappers and told to pay the ransom or they would "confiscate the boat and discharge the crew." The caller claimed the boat had been confiscated because it had entered North Korean territory.
"They initially demanded 1.2 million yuan to give back the boat and that changed to 800,000 yuan and finally to 600,000 yuan after being refused," Yu said.
He was not certain of the kidnappers' identity, but told reporters he suspected they were associated with the North Korean army.
About a year ago, 29 fishermen were kidnapped by North Koreans who demanded a 1.2 million yuan ransom but returned without a ransom being paid after China's foreign ministry contacted North Korea.
The fishermen said they had been starved and beaten.
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