The Japanese government said Wednesday it was to transfer nine North Korean defectors to South Korea as they desired, dpa reported. Tokyo will discuss the transfer with Seoul later this week, the Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed government officials. "We have heard from the North Korean defectors what they desire. We'd like to appropriately engage in talks with the South Korean government after obtaining details," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference. On Tuesday, a fisherman spotted a wooden boat carrying the nine in waters off the coast of the Noto Peninsula in central Japan. The three men, three women and three children were in good health after spending the night on a Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel at a port in Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan coast, Kyodo said. They were identified as North Korean defectors, according to their documents, and they were allowed to land in Japan Wednesday, Kyodo reported. The nine applied for temporary refuge as they met Japanese authorities. The government was to officially permit their temporary landing in Japan before implementing procedures for the transfer to South Korea, Kyodo reported.
