Indonesian cargo ship captain convicted of visiting N. Korea from Busan without permission

An Indonesian captain of a cargo ship has been convicted for making unauthorized voyages between South Korea and North Korea earlier this year.

On Saturday, the Busan District Court sentenced the man, who is in his 50s, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The captain made a round trip from Busan to Wonsan, a major port city on North Korea’s eastern coast, between February and March after falsely reporting his itinerary to South Korean authorities.

The captain and seven other Indonesian crew members were aboard the 1,517-ton vessel, which is registered in Mongolia and owned by a Taiwanese company.

Under the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, any people, including foreign nationals, who intend to take out or bring in goods between South Korea and North Korea must obtain approval from the Ministry of Unification.

The captain admitted he had traveled to North Korea to sell 450 tons of meat products.

On Feb. 9, the captain told South Korean authorities that he planned to sail to the open sea before departing for Wonsan, where the ship arrived three days later. The vessel remained in Wonsan until March 5 before returning to Busan, arriving on March 8.

Investigations revealed that the captain had turned off the vessel’s Automatic Identification System, a tracking device used to monitor ships in real time, while his vessel was moving in North Korean waters. This action was viewed as an attempt to conceal its movements.

“Considering the circumstances and details of the crime, as well as the unfavorable nature of the offense, it can be said that the defendant’s responsibility is serious,” Judge Mok Myung-kyun said.