The US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea says “The abduction of foreigners by the North is the most serious crime in modern history.”
Releases report on the “abduction of 180,000 civilians from 12 nations since the start of the Korean War.”

Chosun Daily
May 14, 2011


A satellite picture showing an abducted foreigners’ residence, located on the outskirts of Pyongyang, was disclosed by the US NGO, the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), on the 12th. Curtis Melvin, an expert in deciphering satellite pictures of North Korea, analyzed the Google Earth picture.

The US HRNK said, “Around Chodaeso in Dongbuk-ri located Northeast of Pyongyang there are residence facilities for Japanese and Korean-Japanese abductees.” He added, “There is a Japan Revolution Town near Deadong River, located east of Pyongyang, where the 1970 Yodo-go hijackers live.”

The US HRNK, a union of organizations on North Korean human rights, said “North Korea has abducted a total of 180,000 people from 12 nations, including South Korea, Japan, China, France and Italy, since the start of the Korean War. The US HRNK urged interested countries to form an international coalition on the issue of the abductees.

In a forum on releasing a report on North Korea’s abduction of foreigners held in the Washington National Press building on the 12th, Richard Allen, Co-chair of the US HRNK and former White House National Security Advisor, said, “The abduction of foreigners by North Korea was a systematic effort by the father and the son, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il.

It is indeed one of the most serious crimes in modern history.” This occasion was organized to seek an international coalition on the issue of abductees and adopt a resolution denouncing the North Korean abductions in the US Congress.

Representatives from five embassies of victim countries in the US, including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Netherlands, Romania, as well as Robert King, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, graced the occasion. As families of abductees, Lee Mi-il, President of the Korean War Abductees’ Family Union and Teruaki Masumoto, Secretary General of Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, participated in the event, urging a speedy settlement on the issue of the abductions.

The US HRNK sent invitation letters to 14 ambassadors, but only the Japanese Ambassador to the US took part in the event. As for Korea, the Minister of Political Affairs participated in the event.

In the report, the US HRNK said that North Korea has abducted around 180,000 people from 12 nations since the start of the Korean War. This figure is a combination of all reported abductions, which have been addressed separately.

It includes 82,952 South Korean civilians who were abducted during the Korea War, 3,824 fishermen who were taken after the Armistice Agreement, 93,000 members of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan who were sent to North Korea from Japan as a part of so called “repatriation project,” and 17 Japanese abductees. Besides them, abductions took place in China, France, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Romania, Malaysia, Singapore, Jordan, and Thailand.

Chuck Downs, Executive Director of the US HRNK said, “We’ve concluded that, following Kim Il-sung, Kim Jung-il ordered the abduction of foreigners in 1976. After that, abductions took place in large-scale until 1982.

The US HRNK also publicly disclosed a satellite picture of the “Japan Revolution Town” and foreigner residence. The “Japan Revolution Town,” where those who hijacked the Yodo airplane live, is located near Daedong River, and the foreigner residence is located in Chodaeso, Dongbuk-ri in northeastern Pyongyang.

The US HRNK revealed that they have confirmed the location based on accounts of South Koreans and Japanese who escaped from North Korea. It also said that abducted foreigners were forced to teach Japanese and European languages at Kim Jong-il Political-Military University.

The US HRNK demanded the North Korean regime hold bilateral talks to address the issue of the abductions and confirm the fate of the abductees. It also called for a reunion of families, the repatriation of the abductees, and the delivery of remains of the deceased.

As for the US, the US HRNK recommended re-designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terror. Co-chair Allen said that he would deliver this report to UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon.