A group of nine North Korean escapees was found aboard a fishing vessel in the sea off Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture on Tuesday.

The three men, three women and three children reportedly arrived in Japan after traveling seven- to eight-hundred kilometers from the North Korean port city of Cheongjin last Friday. The group told Japanese authorities that they are all relatives and wish to go to South Korea.

The boat was carrying 60 liters of fuel, rice and kimchi, suggesting the group had thoroughly prepared to escape the communist state. One of the men told authorities that he belongs to a unit of the North’s Korean People’s Army.

The Japanese government plans to transfer the group to the nearby Kanazawa port on Wednesday and hold further investigations.