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The Mangyongbong-92, named after a hill near Pyongyang, is a passenger ferry built in 1992 to celebrate the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's 80th birthday. The ferry was built with funds from Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.
The ferry makes 20 to 30 trips per annum between Niigata, Japan and Wonsan, North Korea. A typical journey lasts about 28 hours. It is mainly used by Zainichi Koreans visiting relatives in North Korea, and for school trips by Korean schools in Japan.
In 2003, the ferry became an object of suspicion in Japan[1], with allegations that it was being used to transport North Korea's missile parts, made by a North Korean defector to a US Senate committee. The allegations were denied by So Chung-on, the head of Chongryon's foreign affairs bureau, and so far remain unsubstantiated.
On July 5, 2006, Japan banned the ferry from entry because North Korea test-fired Taepodong-2 missiles which fell into the Sea of Japan.[1]
[edit] Specifications
- Weight: 9,672 tonnes
- Length: 162.1 m
- Width: 20.5 m
- Speed: 23 knots
- No. of Passengers: 220
[edit] References
- ^ "Seventh missile launched: report", Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-07-04.
