[Editorial] N. Korean Abductee Cover Up

Yesterday at Mt. Geumgang, Kim Young-nam, 45, who was abducted by North Koreans in 1978 at Seonyudo, Jeonbuk Province, met with his family living in South Korea for the first time in 28 years. His mother, Choi Gye-wol, 82, considered her son dead and even conducted a symbolic marriage for his soul, but when she saw her middle-aged son who disappeared in his first year of high school, she hugged him and broke down in tears. Who caused such tragedy? North Korean authorities announced that the reunion was arranged for humanitarian reasons and attempted to look benevolent, but that is just plain abominable. If they had not kidnapped him in the first place, Kim and his family will not have to suffer from the heartache of being separated once more.

Kim’s family’s grief may be relieved for a brief while, but other families of abducted South Koreans are still yearning for their beloved. The government estimates that North Korea has abducted 485 South Koreans after the Korean War and that 540 South Korean prisoners of war are still alive in the North. Out of them, only 104 people from 26 families have been reunited after 2000 in the form of special reunion for separated families. The whereabouts of 82,959 Koreans kidnapped during the Korean War are still unknown. If the Japanese government had not made an international issue out of Kim being the husband of abducted Japanese Yokota Megumi through determined investigation, Kim’s family reunion would not have taken place.

North Korea only acknowledged the existence of abducted South Koreans at the 7th South-North Korea Red Cross Meeting in February, and promised to continue discussing the issue of abductees and prisoners of war. Nevertheless, there wasn’t any significant progress at the minister-level meetings held afterwards. It is lamentable that North Korea is using this as leverage to receive aid from South Korea rather than repent for its heinous crimes.

Despite the cooperation and interchange between both Koreas, North Korea’s policy to communize South Korea remains firmly unchanged. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the West Sea naval clash and reminds us once again of Korea’s security situation where it has to confront North Korea. Falling into sentimental nationalism and neglecting the insecure reality can lead to a repetition of such tragedy.

Even now, North Korea should confirm the whereabouts of all the South Koreans whom it has kidnapped and notify this to their families, and if there are survivors, return them to South Korea. With abductees aging, this issue should not be postponed anymore. Our government should also stop issuing “formal demands” and reap results by linking this issue with aid to North Korea.