Government Cooperates with Japan and Other Abduction-Affected Countries... Supports Exchanges with Warmbier Family

Strengthening International Cooperation
Policy to Confirm the Status and Urge Repatriation of Abductees and Detainees

The government has planned to cooperate with victim countries such as Japan to resolve the issue of abductees, support international exchanges for victim families, and raise its voice in the international community.

The Ministry of Unification announced on the 14th that it has established an implementation plan for resolving the issues of abductees, detainees, and Korean War POWs this year. Previously, in November last year, the Ministry of Unification derived three sectors and eight major tasks through discussions at the Abductee Countermeasures Committee attended by related ministries including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Justice, and National Intelligence Service, and announced that it had prepared implementation plans by each ministry.

Six of our citizens, including missionaries Kim Jeong-wook, Kim Guk-gi, and Choi Chun-gil, have been detained in North Korea for over 10 years in some cases. Among the 3,835 people presumed abducted during and after the war, 516 have not returned.

The Ministry of Unification plans to actively seek cooperation with the Japanese government, as Japan also had 17 of its nationals abducted in the 1970s and 1980s, with 12 not returning. Additionally, it aims to request confirmation of life or death through the International Committee of the Red Cross and to specifically reflect recommendations urging resolution of the issue in the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of North Korea by the United Nations in November.

North Korea missile launch. Related to North Korea. Defectors, etc. Ministry of Unification data photo. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

International solidarity activities and private exchanges of abductee victim families or related organizations will also be supported. In particular, it is known that the ministry is considering ways for foreign abductee victim families, such as the family of Otto Warmbier, an American who was detained in North Korea in 2016 and died shortly after his release the following year, to join Korean victim families in raising international awareness.

Messages urging confirmation of life or death and repatriation of abductees and detainees will be sent to North Korea on major occasions, and plans will be made to negotiate with North Korea in preparation for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.

The Ministry of Unification plans to review the performance of each ministry’s implementation plan semiannually this year and to evaluate and disclose the implementation results at the end of the year. The Ministry of Unification explained, "This year marks the 10th anniversary since missionaries Kim Guk-gi and Choi Chun-gil were detained in North Korea," adding, "We will do our best to resolve the issues of abductees, detainees, and Korean War POWs together with our citizens and in cooperation with the international community."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.