N. Korean defector says he has no knowledge of abductee Yokota+

TOKYO, April 5 Kyodo -
Hwang Jang Yop, a former high-ranking North Korean official who defected to
South Korea in 1997, told Japanese lawmakers in Tokyo on Monday he has no
knowledge of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted to North Korea from Japan as a
teenager and Pyongyang claims to have died.
''I don't know Megumi Yokota. I have heard that a Japanese was abducted and
involved in teaching the Japanese language to agents,'' Hwang was quoted as
saying by several lawmakers who attended a meeting with him.
The lawmakers said the former secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea told
them he ''was in a position that could get hold of information'' on the
abduction issue but did not do so back then and feels ''sorry for it now.''
Hwang also said if any abductees are alive and remaining in the reclusive
state, it could be because ''they do not want to go back as they receive good
treatment'' or because the country ''keeps them from returning as they are in
an important position and know secrets.''
The comments came during the meeting with some 20 lawmakers including Hiroshi
Nakai, minister in charge of abduction issues, Muneo Suzuki and Koriki Jojima,
who are involved in the issue.
On North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitting in 2002 to abducting Japanese
nationals, Hwang said it was a ''trick.''
''Because they did a number of other bad things, they admitted to one and tried
to hide the others,'' he said, according to the lawmakers.
A number of Japanese nationals were abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and
1980s, including Yokota. While Pyongyang has returned five of them, it said
Yokota, who was 13 when she was abducted in 1977, died in North Korea, but her
family does not believe the claim.
Earlier in the day, Hwang met with Nakai separately and exchanged views on
North Korean-related situations and the abduction issue.
Formerly a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Hwang made a stop in
Japan on his way back from the United States to South Korea.
Hwang last visited Japan in 1997 as a member of a North Korean delegation
shortly before his defection. At the time, he was serving as chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.
==Kyodo
2010-04-05 23:03:32