Thursday, October 03, 2002
The issue of abducted Japanese continues to dog thawing Japan-DPRK relations
I'm sure that both Koizumi and Kim Jong Il wish this issue would simply go away. Realpolitik dictates that the affairs of state should not be determined by the desires of a very few, no matter how tragic their plight. But Realpolitik doesn't always win out in this messy world of ours.
The Associated Press (Natalie Obiko Pearson, "FAMILIES DEMAND JAPANESE
KIDNAPPING VICTIMS RETURN FROM NORTH KOREA," Tokyo, 10/03/02) reported that the families of Japanese kidnapped by the DPRK demanded Thursday their loved ones return to Japan - despite their videotaped claims that they are happy in the DPRK and do not want to come home. The families spoke after watching videotapes of five surviving kidnap victims and the daughter of one who the DPRK says has died.
The DPRK claims that eight of the kidnap victims are dead and that all but one of their graves had been washed away in floods.
Officials in Pyongyang said that only two of the victims had died of sickness. The others died of suicide, car crashes, gas poisoning and
drowning. Family members have dismissed the claims, saying they refuse to believe their relatives are dead. "We want Japan to kidnap our family back," said Tamotsu Chimura, whose son Yasushi has been confirmed as alive in Pyongyang. Despite the mounting public anger, Japan wants to push ahead with forging diplomatic relations.
I'm sure that both Koizumi and Kim Jong Il wish this issue would simply go away. Realpolitik dictates that the affairs of state should not be determined by the desires of a very few, no matter how tragic their plight. But Realpolitik doesn't always win out in this messy world of ours.
