ID :
50069
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 07:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/50069
The shortlink copeid
Former N. Korean terrorist meets family of Japanese abductee
BUSAN, March 11 (Yonhap) -- A former North Korean spy had an emotionally-charged meeting with the family of Yaeko Taguchi, a Japanese woman abducted by the communist nation in the 1970s, asking them not to lose hope for a reunion.
"I have no doubt your mother is still alive. Be hopeful," Kim Hyun-hui told
Taguchi's son in Japanese.
She wiped away tears with a handkerchief during the brief conversation in front
of the media. Kim was once sentenced to death for planting a bomb on a South
Korean airliner in 1987 that killed all 115 people on board but was later
pardoned.
More than 100 reporters, photographers, and camera crew, many from Japan, were
allowed to cover only the first five minutes of the meeting at a huge room in the
Busan convention center. The venue was heavily guarded by police commandos for
security.
It marked the first time that Kim, who is now a housewife reportedly with two
children, appeared for a public event since 1991, when she provided details about
the attack on the airliner in a nationally-televised press conference.
Kim asked for the meeting with Taguchi's family to tell them about her life in
North Korea. North Korea said earlier that Taguchi died in 1986 in a car
accident. Taguchi was Kim's Japanese language instructor from 1981-1983.
Kim told Taguchi's son Koichiro Iizuka, who was a baby when his mother was
abducted and is now 32, that "you must have been lonely."
Speaking to Shigeo Iizuka, 70, Taguchi's elder brother, Kim said "You resemble
her." The three moved to another room for a closed-door meeting. They are
scheduled to hold a joint press conference shortly after their talks.
It was unclear whether Wednesday's meeting will provide new clues as to Taguchi's
fate but it is likely that Japanese authorities will seek to rekindle public
interest in the abduction issue.
Taguchi is one of 17 Japanese citizens whom Tokyo says were abducted by North
Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2002, the North acknowledged abducting
only 13 Japanese citizens and allowed five of them to return home, saying the
others had died.
Tokyo has demanded that Pyongyang account for all of the abductees, setting it as
a precondition for the normalization of diplomatic ties and the delivery of its
share of energy aid promised under a six-nation deal.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
"I have no doubt your mother is still alive. Be hopeful," Kim Hyun-hui told
Taguchi's son in Japanese.
She wiped away tears with a handkerchief during the brief conversation in front
of the media. Kim was once sentenced to death for planting a bomb on a South
Korean airliner in 1987 that killed all 115 people on board but was later
pardoned.
More than 100 reporters, photographers, and camera crew, many from Japan, were
allowed to cover only the first five minutes of the meeting at a huge room in the
Busan convention center. The venue was heavily guarded by police commandos for
security.
It marked the first time that Kim, who is now a housewife reportedly with two
children, appeared for a public event since 1991, when she provided details about
the attack on the airliner in a nationally-televised press conference.
Kim asked for the meeting with Taguchi's family to tell them about her life in
North Korea. North Korea said earlier that Taguchi died in 1986 in a car
accident. Taguchi was Kim's Japanese language instructor from 1981-1983.
Kim told Taguchi's son Koichiro Iizuka, who was a baby when his mother was
abducted and is now 32, that "you must have been lonely."
Speaking to Shigeo Iizuka, 70, Taguchi's elder brother, Kim said "You resemble
her." The three moved to another room for a closed-door meeting. They are
scheduled to hold a joint press conference shortly after their talks.
It was unclear whether Wednesday's meeting will provide new clues as to Taguchi's
fate but it is likely that Japanese authorities will seek to rekindle public
interest in the abduction issue.
Taguchi is one of 17 Japanese citizens whom Tokyo says were abducted by North
Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2002, the North acknowledged abducting
only 13 Japanese citizens and allowed five of them to return home, saying the
others had died.
Tokyo has demanded that Pyongyang account for all of the abductees, setting it as
a precondition for the normalization of diplomatic ties and the delivery of its
share of energy aid promised under a six-nation deal.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
