ID :
91227
Mon, 11/23/2009 - 22:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/91227
The shortlink copeid
Ex-N. Korean agent, Japanese abductee's son trade letters after meeting
+
SAITAMA, Japan, Nov. 23 Kyodo -
The son of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1978 released Monday
letters he has exchanged with former North Korean agent Kim Hyong Hui since
their meeting in South Korea in March.
At a press conference in Saitama, Koichiro Iizuka, 32, said he has decided to
disclose the letters sent and received in July and August as he has grown
worried about the new government's handling of the abduction issue since Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama took power in mid-September.
Kim, who learnt Japanese from Iizuka's mother, Yaeko Taguchi, sent a letter in
August that read ''I was very glad that we were able to meet. I still remember
the feeling of such an emotional experience,'' according to Iizuka.
''I believe there will be a time when we can meet again, and sit and talk about
your mother in the future,'' the 47-year-old Kim wrote in the six-page letter
written in Japanese.
The letter was accompanied by video footage of Kim, but contained no new
information on abductees, Iizuka said.
In July, Iizuka wrote to Kim in Japanese, saying, ''Every time I recall our
meeting (in March) I get the urge to see my mother.'' He ended the letter with
the phrase ''see you again, my mother in South Korea.''
In March, Taguchi's relatives met with Kim in South Korea in a much-awaited
development. Taguchi was abducted in 1978 at the age of 22 and is believed to
have lived about 20 months with Kim, who was convicted of the 1987 fatal
bombing of a South Korean airliner but was freed in 1990 under a presidential
pardon.
''It's been two months since a change of government took place and now I'm
worried because I don't see how (the government) will approach it (resolving
the abduction issue),'' Iizuka said in explaining why he had decided to make
the letter public. ''I want to boost public consciousness'' about the issue.
Shigeo Iizuka, 71, Taguchi's brother who represents the families of Japanese
nationals abducted by North Korea, meanwhile, expressed hope that he will be
able to gather information on the whereabouts of the other victims through
future meetings with Kim.
==Kyodo
SAITAMA, Japan, Nov. 23 Kyodo -
The son of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1978 released Monday
letters he has exchanged with former North Korean agent Kim Hyong Hui since
their meeting in South Korea in March.
At a press conference in Saitama, Koichiro Iizuka, 32, said he has decided to
disclose the letters sent and received in July and August as he has grown
worried about the new government's handling of the abduction issue since Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama took power in mid-September.
Kim, who learnt Japanese from Iizuka's mother, Yaeko Taguchi, sent a letter in
August that read ''I was very glad that we were able to meet. I still remember
the feeling of such an emotional experience,'' according to Iizuka.
''I believe there will be a time when we can meet again, and sit and talk about
your mother in the future,'' the 47-year-old Kim wrote in the six-page letter
written in Japanese.
The letter was accompanied by video footage of Kim, but contained no new
information on abductees, Iizuka said.
In July, Iizuka wrote to Kim in Japanese, saying, ''Every time I recall our
meeting (in March) I get the urge to see my mother.'' He ended the letter with
the phrase ''see you again, my mother in South Korea.''
In March, Taguchi's relatives met with Kim in South Korea in a much-awaited
development. Taguchi was abducted in 1978 at the age of 22 and is believed to
have lived about 20 months with Kim, who was convicted of the 1987 fatal
bombing of a South Korean airliner but was freed in 1990 under a presidential
pardon.
''It's been two months since a change of government took place and now I'm
worried because I don't see how (the government) will approach it (resolving
the abduction issue),'' Iizuka said in explaining why he had decided to make
the letter public. ''I want to boost public consciousness'' about the issue.
Shigeo Iizuka, 71, Taguchi's brother who represents the families of Japanese
nationals abducted by North Korea, meanwhile, expressed hope that he will be
able to gather information on the whereabouts of the other victims through
future meetings with Kim.
==Kyodo
