26 N. Koreans rescued as cargo ship sinks off Japan

Japan rescued 26 North Koreans after they abandoned their sinking cargo vessel in the East China Sea, the coast guard said Thursday. Japan Coast Guard patrol boats plucked the ship's entire crew out of the water in the early hours of the morning after they had abandoned the vessel and taken to life boats. The coast guard cited the crew as saying the ship was transporting rice from North Korea's port of Nampo on its west coast to the east coast city of Wonsan.