Federal and local authorities on Guam were still searching the northern part of the island for up to five suspected illegal immigrants as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Guam Police Department.

The individuals were with nine others on a 50-foot fishing vessel that ran aground Tuesday morning on a shallow reef near Urunao Beach at Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station.

Those nine were apprehended Tuesday on the Navy base.

Based on interviews with the nine, officials believe five more are still at large, GPD spokesman Allan Guzman said.

The Navy had stepped up patrols and security checkpoints on the base, Navy officials said Wednesday. Navy public affairs officials could not be reached Thursday for an update on the search.

Guzman said foreigners trying to enter Guam illegally by boat has been an ongoing problem, especially along the beaches near where Tuesday’s group landed.

The vessel that ran aground Tuesday was flying a Taiwanese flag.

Kunsan Safety Office wins awardsSEOUL — Kunsan Air Base’s Safety Office won two U.S. Air Force-wide safety awards earlier this month for flight and ground safety, according to base spokeswoman Capt. Tiffany Payette.

The first, the Columbian Trophy, recognizes military flight safety.

Lt. Col. Steven Kennel, 8th Fighter Wing chief of safety, said Kunsan airmen logged about 11,000 flying hours and 8,000 sorties in fiscal 2007 with no Class A or Class B mishaps.

Class A mishaps include damage of $1 million or more, a fatality or permanent disability or the destruction of aircraft. Class B mishaps include damage between $200,000 to $1 million dollars, or result in a permanent partial disability or inpatient hospitalization of three or more people.

The second award, the Ground Safety Plaque, recognizes outstanding achievement in or contributing to ground safety.

Kennel said ground safety efforts led to a 32 percent drop in reportable mishaps in 2006, a 23 percent drop in non-reportable mishap rates, and no Class A or Class B mishaps.

S. Korean official: No transfer delaySouth Korea’s new minister of national defense, Lee Sang-hee, said South Korea shouldn’t delay the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States in 2012, the date the countries have previously agreed to, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense.

Lee made the recommendation March 12 in his first official report to new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the ministry spokesman said. Lee Sang-hee became minister after the new president took office last month.

The Korea Herald reported Thursday that Lee Sang-hee has told U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. B.B. Bell that the transfer of wartime control was “not an option.”