SEOUL – Two crew members of a North Korean cargo ship missing since December last year were found dead by the Japanese Coast Guard this weekend, a Tokyo-based news agency said on Monday.

The partially decomposed body of one sailor, still wearing a North Korean loyalty badge, was found in Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture on Saturday, and was reportedly in possession of $290 in five U.S. dollar bills.

Japanese Coast Guard crew found the second body the next day in the waters surrounding the Oga Peninsula, Japanese news agency Kyodoreported. The deceased North Korean crew member was found with a