Illegally fishing North Korea boat sinks after encounter with Japanese vessel

A Japanese boat (top R), which belongs to the Fisheries Agency, commence rescue work as a life boat from a North Korean fishing vessel (bottom R) floats in the sea, northwest of Noto Peninsular, central Japan, in this handout photo taken October 7, 2019 and provided by Japan Coast Guard. 9th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters - Japan Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - A North Korean fishing boat sank on Monday after a crash with a Japanese patrol boat trying to chase it out of Japan's economic zone and some of its crew were rescued and some believed to be missing, Japanese officials said.

The Japanese coastguard did not give details about how the two vessels crashed in the Sea of Japan but a Japanese ministry official said the North Korean boat was fishing illegally in Japan's exclusive economic zone.