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 Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- Japanese defense authorities have confirmed that the vessel initially suspected of being a North Korean spy ship communicated with the North before being intercepted and sunk by Japanese patrol boats after an exchange of fire in the East China Sea Saturday, Japan's Sankei Shimbun said in its Wednesday edition. The authorities were able to confirm via information provided by the U.S. military that the trawler exchanged messages with the North before it was intercepted by patrol boats off the Japanese island of Amami Oshima. The U.S. forces stationed in Japan provided video information of the vessel after detecting it via a military reconnaissance satellite on Dec. 18. The following day, Japanese defense officials were able to determine that the trawler was using the North Korean Workers' Party radio frequency. An antisubmarine patrol aircraft was dispatched to the scene and located the vessel Saturday, three days after the authorities had received the information from the United States. Although the defense officials declined to give details of the messages exchanged between the vessel and the North Korean side, they said, "The ship may have been involved with the smuggling of drugs used to treat drug addicts." The newspaper added that the Japanese government, which first believed the vessel was a North Korean spy ship based on its shape and equipment, have gained more evidence to support their suspicions. yct9423@yna.co.kr