(FILE PHOTO) A Suspected North Korean Vessel Sinks

399645 03: (FILE PHOTO) A suspected North Korean vessel makes its way through the East China Sea December 22, 2001 about 155 miles northwest of the southwestern Japanese island of Amami-Oshima. The vessel sank after an exchange of gunfire with Japanese patrol boats and sent a suicide message before it went down, Japanese media reported December 31. The State Department announced its support Japans account of the sinking of the ship, January 14, 2002. (Photo by Getty Images)