June 23, 2003, Chosun Ilbo
“South Korea and Japan Must Work Proactively to Repatriate Abductees”


A press conference organized by abductee advocacy groups in South Korea and Japan held at the Seoul Koreana hotel called on the South Korean and Japanese governments to make abductee repatriations a priority.
“North Korea began its campaign of abductions by abducting more than 80,000 civilians in the Korean War and another 500 after the war,” the advocates said. “We are certain that there are far more Japanese who have been abducted other than the 15 the Japanese government has confirmed. The Roh Moo Hyun government must make resolving the abductee issue a priority and immediately stop all assistance to North Korea until the country responds to the issue.”

They called on North Korea to immediately return surviving abductees and the remains of those who have died, and said that the U.N. and the international community must conduct an investigation into the truth behind the abductions.
Korean War Abductees’ Family Union Chairman Kim Song Ho, North Korean Abductees’ Family Union Chairman Chae U Yong, and representatives from two Japanese advocacy groups attended the press conference.

The North Korean Abductees’ Family Union also released a North Korean abductee human rights report that includes a graph of abductions by year, the human rights situation of abductees in North Korea, the activities of the family union and commentary by experts on the abductee issue.