U.S. Lawmaker Presses North on Abductees

Henry J. Hyde, chairman of the International Relations Committee of the U.S House of Representatives, urged Park Gil Yeon, the North Korean ambassador to the North’s Permanent Mission at the U.N., to resolve the issue of South Korean and Japanese citizens abducted by the North.

In his letter to Park on November 4, citing the recent case in which Choi Woo-young (35), the daughter of Choi Jong-seok who was a sailor of Dongjinho kidnapped by the North, sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appealing that she sincerely wants North Korean authorities to return her father to his home country, Hyde urged Pyongyang to show sympathy in accordance with the inter-Korean reconciliation sprit based on Seoul’s sunshine policy.

Hyde warned that if the issue of abductees is not resolved, it would be no progress with regards to several issues such as normalizing Pyongyang-Washington relations, deleting the North’s name on the list of terror-supporting countries, and supporting energy and finance, which require the inspection and approval by the U.S. Congress.

Soon-Taek Kwon maypole@donga.com