MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) -  A total of four sailors have now been found dead, and 11 have been found alive from the 18-man crew of a Russian cargo ship that sunk in the West Pacific three days ago, after rescuers found another three dead on Thursday.

The Russian ship Yury Orlenko, which had sailed from the country's Far East port of Vladivostok to join the rescue effort, pulled a body out of the water in the Sea of Japan at 5:30 a.m. GMT on Thursday, according to Russia's Transportation Ministry.

South Korean coast guards identified two bodies from the air in North Korean waters earlier Thursday. The plane "identified two bodies, 37 nautical miles to the northwest of Chongjin [in northeast North Korea]," a coast guard official said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday asked Pyongyang permission for a Russian vessel to enter North Korea's waters to pick up the two bodies.

The search continues for the other three.

North Korea had given authorization for one South Korean vessel and one plane to enter its waters and airspace on Tuesday, to search for the sailors, despite diplomatic tensions between the countries over the reclusive Communist state's recent nuclear test. Pyongyang had previously authorized the South to carry out similar search operations.

The Sinegorye, which was transporting timber, sunk within one hour Monday when a sudden heavy storm broke out, causing the vessel to lurch violently. Most of the timber broke through the holds, damaging hatches and equipment, and water began to flow into the ship, one of the survivors, speaking from a South Korean hospital, said.