The four North Koreans, a couple and their adult sons, arrived June 2 in a 7.3-meter open wooden boat.

When asked in Tokyo when Japan intends to transport the four to South Korea as per their wishes, Foreign Minister Taro Aso. said, "I cannot say for sure, the case is under investigation."

Police have been questioning the four since their boat arrived in Fukaura, Aomori Prefecture, under escort by the Japan Coast Guard after the vessel was found off the Sea of Japan port town.

Tokyo's suspicions were aroused after police found the younger son to be in possession of a minute quantity of illegal amphetamines.

The man reportedly told police: "I kept the drug in order to not fall asleep while steering the boat."

But police now doubt the four were as destitute and politically oppressed as they claimed because they believe ordinary North Koreans have no access to drugs, which are thought to be produced by Kim Jong Il's regime as a highly valued overseas smuggling commodity.

Investigators thus feel they need more time to probe how the younger son obtained the amphetamines, the sources said.

Police also found a quantity of liquid rat poison, which the four claimed they planned to use to kill themselves if they had been caught by North Korean authorities while trying to escape.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 9, 2007
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