Japan rescued a group of North Korean fishermen - and then sent them straight back to Kim Jong Un's dictatorship after they apparently pleaded to go home.

Officers on a Japanese Coast Guard ship discovered the capsized fishing boat off Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's west coast on Wednesday afternoon.

The three people still on board were rescued, Japanese officials said.

They were then handed to another North Korean ship on Thursday after saying they wanted to go back to their home nation, according to Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.

He added: "All three people rescued were North Korean nationals and they expressed hopes to return to North Korea."


Image: The UN says Kim Jong Un's regime hands out death sentences to some defectors

The rescued fishermen told the Coast Guard they had been trying to sail back to North Korea after a fishing expedition when their boat capsized.

The area they were fishing in is managed by South Korea and Japan, but is full of squid and crab, and North Koreans often fish it illegally.

Mr Suga said the fishermen had told Japanese officials there were 15 sailors on board, but none of the others have been found.

In 2016, 1,418 people defected from North Korea to South Korea in a bid to to get away from the repressive regime, according to the South's Ministry of Unification.

Image: The heavily fortified demilitarised zone lies between the two Koreas

More defect over the northern border into China because it is easier than crossing the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, but no figures have been released.

Illegally leaving North Korea is considered a serious offence under the country's Criminal Code, according to the United Nations.

Those who defect are considered to have committed treason which carries a minimum five-year punishment or "reform through labour".

Those caught face being tortured, imprisoned, inhumanely treated and even executed, the UN says.