Asia 857
MID#2974
Dispute Number: 2974
Date(s): April 24, 1982 to July 16, 1982
Participants: 731 North Korea/740 Japan
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: North Korea seized five Japanese fishing boats in the Yellow Sea on April
24, 1982. Three of the five boats were released several hours later. Two more seizures
occurred in May and July of the same year.
Coding changes: Participant changed: This was originally coded as involving South
Korea, but the disputant was actually North Korea. End Date changed from July 13,
1982.
MID#4022
Started in November 1993. See the narrative in the 731 North Korea/732 South Korea
dyad dispute list.
MID#4226
Dispute Number: 4226
Date(s): September 1997
Participants: 731 North Korea/740 Japan
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: North Korea placed ballistic missiles on mobile launchers that were capa-
ble of reaching Japan. The display occurred during normalization talks with Japan.
The United States recorded images of these missiles and shared the intelligence with
Japan.
MID#4225
Dispute Number: 4225
Date(s): March 23, 1999 to March 24, 1999
Participants: 731 North Korea/740 Japan
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Two North Korean vessels entered Japanese waters just off the Noto
Peninsula in Central Japan on March 23, 1999. The Japanese coast guard spotted the
ships, which were sporting names of real Japanese vessels. Japanese destroyers, patrol
boats, and aircraft were sent to intercept and track the Korean vessels. Eventually, the
Japanese fired warning shots and dropped warning bombs at the vessels when they
refused to stop. The Japanese pursued the Korean vessels for nearly 24 hours, and the
chase ended when the Korean vessels entered international waters, eventually return-
ing to a North Korean port. The Japanese alleged that the North Korean vessels were
on a spy mission when they entered Japanese waters and filed a formal letter of protest