No progress in cracking down on North Korean kidnapping suspects

Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)–Progress has stalled in investigations into North Korean kidnappings of Japanese nationals, with no prospect of arresting suspects 20 years after Pyongyang first admitted to kidnapping Japanese citizens.

Japanese police have determined that 19 people are victims of North Korean abductions, including two children of Korean nationality who have disappeared. Meanwhile, the possibility of kidnapping cannot be ruled out for 871 others.

The 13 cases identified as North Korean abductions occurred between 1974 and 1983 in Niigata, Ishikawa, Fukui, Hyogo, Tottori, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima prefectures, as well as in Europe.

Law enforcement authorities have identified suspects in eight cases, including one involving the abduction of Yasushi Chimura and his wife, who returned to Japan in October 2002.

They issued international notices of a total of 11 people as wanted suspects, including Sin Gwang-su, a North Korean agent, and Kimihiro Uomoto, who was a member of a group that hijacked a Japan Airlines plane in 1970. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks North Korea to hand over the suspects.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]