TOKYO: The mother and sister of a South Korean kidnapped by North Korean agents visited Japan yesterday to meet families whose sons and daughters have been also snatched by the Stalinist state.
The family of Kim Young Nam, who was kidnapped in 1978 when he was 16 and is believed to have married a Japanese woman abductee, arrived in Tokyo.
They were scheduled to meet the family of Megumi Yokota, who was kidnapped at the age of 13 in 1977 and is believed to have married Kim. Yokota and Kim are thought to have a daughter in North Korea.
Kim’s mother, Choi Gye Wol, and sister, Kim Young Ja, are also scheduled to meet political leaders and speak at a special legislative committee of parliament.
“I want to see my son as soon as possible. That’s why I came to Japan,” Choi told reporters.
Yokota’s mother Sakie told a rally in Tokyo that she hoped Kim’s family would stand strong against North Korea and urged them not to agree to an easy compromise with it.
“The North might try to lure the family of Mr Kim Young Nam with a trap in their efforts to end the abduction issue,” Sakie Yokota said.
“We must not accept a possible North Korean scheme to arrange a meeting” with the daughter of Megumi Yokota and Kim Young Nam in North Korea, she said.
“To ensure that we will get back our sons and daughters, I strongly hope that (Kim’s family) will not be fooled by such a trap. I hope to work hand-in-hand with them.
Japan has expressed its concern that South Korea is reluctant to push North Korea on the kidnapping issue.
Yokota’s case has become a symbol of the highly emotional issue of the abductees.
The North has admitted kidnapping Japanese civilians to train its spies and has handed over to Tokyo five victims and their families. Japan believes at least eight more are alive and kept under wraps because they know secrets.
North Korea admitted it had kidnapped Yokota but insisted that she married a North Korean named Kim Chol-Jun in 1986 and later killed herself after suffering depression.
Japan believes it is hiding the truth and that Yokota may still be alive.
Recent Japanese and South Korean investigations have produced evidence that Yokota married Kim Young-Nam, now 45.
US President George W Bush met the Yokota family in Washington last month to support their cause.–AFP |
