The Japanese Coast Guard on Sunday said a boat believed to have come from North Korea was discovered on Japan's Sado Island and contained several decomposing bodies.
Authorities said there were seven bodies found on the boat. However, that figure could change since the coast guard had specifically discovered three bodies with heads, two bodies without heads and two heads without bodies. It is unclear whether the heads belong to the bodies.
"Five of the bodies were identified as men but the remaining two could not be identified," an official told the AFP news agency. "There have been similar cases but this was the first discovery of bodies in such a wrecked boat on this island this year."
Letters and numbers in the Korean alphabet were painted on the side of the boat but there were no other indications of its origin.