TOKYO, Dec 24: Japan said on Monday it sank a suspected North Korean spy ship that had fired rockets at its patrol boats over the weekend in the most dangerous mission the Japanese coast guard had ever faced.

North Korea has not commented about the incident as the communist state marked the 10th anniversary of its leader Kim Jong-il taking command of the armed forces.

“The Japan Coast Guard was attacked by rockets for the first time,” Shigehiro Sakamoto, management division chief of the Guard and Rescue Department of the Coast Guard, told a news conference. “It was the most dangerous mission ever conducted by the Coast Guard.”

None of the rockets hit Japan’s patrol boats, he said.

After more than a hundred shots were exchanged, the suspected spy ship, which had been pursued by about 20 Coast Guard vessels, caught fire and sank on Saturday, leaving many of its crew missing at sea. Three bodies, believed to be the ship’s crew, have been found so far.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters after a special cabinet meeting on Monday the government should further study legal steps to deal with suspicious boats in its territorial waters or exclusive economic zone.—Reuters