The government plans to identify a sunken ship it is trying to salvage, which was suspected of being a North Korean spy ship, about a week after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Sept. 17 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.

But the plan to identify the vessel on or around Sept. 24 is not timed to avoid marring Koizumi's historic meeting with Kim in Pyongyang, the top government spokesman said.

The ship, which sank in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japan Coast Guard vessels in December, will be raised Sept. 11 at the earliest if weather permits, according to the government plan.