The Man Gyong Bong 92 is a cargo-passenger ferry, named after a hill near Pyongyang. The ferry was built in 1992 with funds from Chongryon, the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and was used to transport passengers and cargo between North Korea and Japan. These voyages continued until 2006 when Japan banned North Korean ships from its waters. In 2011 the ship trialed a route between Rason and Mount Kumgang. In 2018, the ship carried a 140 person delegation, as well as an art troupe, for the 2018 Winter Olympics and docked in Mukho port. Background The first Man Gyong Bong ship had its maiden voyage in September 1971, amidst Japan’s easing restrictions on visits to North Korea by Zainichi Koreans. It was used to transport people between North Korea and Japan until it was replaced by the Man Gyong Bong 92 in 1992. The Man Gyong Bong 92 was constructed using a donation of 4 billion yen (approximately US $32 million) from the Japanese-based Chongryon (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan). The organisation gave the money to North Korea as a gift for Kim Il-sung’s 80th birthday in 1992. The ferry could carry 200 passengers and 1,000 tons of cargo. Before Japan banned all North Korean vessels from its waters in 2006, it made about one to two round trips per month between the Port of Niigata, Japan and Wonsan, North Korea, with a one-way trip lasting about 28 hours. Most of the passengers were North Korean zainichi visiting relatives or students of a Chongryon school on a study trip. Cargo shipped from Japan was typically electronics, medical devices, and foreign-made manufactured goods. In August 1993, a first-class ticket on the Man Gyong Bong 92 would cost about US $1,500 each. Controversy with Japan In September 2002, the North Korean government admitted to abducting several Japanese citizens throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. This admission caused people to believe the first Man Gyong Bong, operating since 1971, was used to transport these abductees to North Korea. This assumption sparked further suspicion surrounding the ferry’s successor, the Man Gyong Bong 92, that was still in operation. The main allegation against the Man Gyong Bong 92 was that it allowed the smuggling of illegal items to and from Japan. Specifically, it was believed that drugs and weapons were being smuggled into Japan, and cash, missile