An unidentified boat was found off the coast of the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning carrying nine people who said they came from North Korea, the Japan Coast Guard said. The nine, three men, three women and three children, are believed to be North Korean defectors, Japan''s News Agency (Kyodo) reported. After receiving a report from a local fisherman at around 7:30 a.m. that ''''an unfamiliar vessel'''' had been seen at sea, officers from the 9th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters set out to reach the boat.