Former Japanese Abductees Appeal For Early Rescue Of Other Victims From N.korea
Two Japanese nationals who returned home after being abducted by North Korea decades ago have called for all other abductees to be rescued as soon as possible.
Soga Hitomi and Hasuike Kaoru spoke at a rally in Niigata Prefecture on Sunday.
Soga and her mother Miyoshi were abducted from the prefecture, which faces the Sea of Japan, by North Korean agents in 1978. Soga returned home after a Japan-North Korea summit in 2002. But her mother's whereabouts remain unknown.
Soga said she has been yearning to see her mother since they were abducted and separated 44 years ago.
She said her mother is now 90 years old and it's hard for her to imagine how her mother has changed in all those years.
Hasuike was also abducted from Niigata Prefecture in 1978 and returned to Japan in 2002.
Hasuike refuted North Korea's claim that eight Japanese abductees died and the remains of most of them have been lost in floods.
He said graves in North Korea are usually situated on mountain tops or ridges. He demanded all abductees be returned as soon as possible.
Soga told reporters after her speech that she received a letter from the mother of abductee Yokota Megumi earlier this month. Megumi was abducted from Niigata Prefecture in 1977 at the age of 13. Soga and Megumi were in the same facility in Pyongyang for some time.
Soga said Megumi's mother asked her to share anything she can recall about Megumi. She said her reply will contain all she can remember.
The Japanese government says at least 17 citizens were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Five returned in 2002, but the other 12 remain unaccounted for.