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Cablegate: Reunion Refocuses Rok Public On Abductees

VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #2243/01 1880245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070245Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8882
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0911
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7395
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0981
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//

UNCLAS SEOUL 002243

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PREF PGOV KS KN
SUBJECT: REUNION REFOCUSES ROK PUBLIC ON ABDUCTEES


SUMMARY
-------

1. (SBU) The emotional June 28-30 reunion between Kim
Young-nam, a ROK abduction victim, and his South Korean
mother has increased domestic interest in the DPRK's
post-Korean War abductions of ROK nationals. Kim is one of a
total of 485 South Korean abduction victims believed to be
remaining in the North. Despite ROKG efforts to address the
abductee issue during official inter-Korean exchanges, little
progress has been made because the DPRK continues to deny the
existence of South Korean abductees. Recently, the ROK
government signaled a slight change in its policy by
declaring that the ROKG would provide reciprocal amounts of
economic assistance to the North for due progress on the
issue. Kim Young-nam's denial of his abduction, however,
demonstrates that the DPRK position continues to remain
unchanged. Meanwhile, the Grand National Party (GNP) and
conservative human rights groups continue to criticize the
ROK government for its "quiet" approach. END SUMMARY.

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KIM YOUNG-NAM ABDUCTION CASE
----------------------------

2. (U) In early June, the DPRK made a surprising
announcement to accept the ROK government's request to
include Kim Young-nam, a 1978 ROK kidnapping victim, in the
14th round of Separated Family Reunions that was held June
19-30 in North Korea. The case of Kim Young-nam received
intense media attention when his relationship with Megumi
Yokota, a Japanese abduction victim, was revealed earlier
this year. The ROK government believes that Kim Young-nam is
one of five high-school students abducted by North Korean
agents between the years of 1977 and 1978. Kim, who was 17
years old when he disappeared from a beach near his South
Korean hometown of Kunsan, North Jeolla Province in August
1978, now lives and works as an intelligence officer in the
North. Kim's emotional reunion with his South Korean mother
and sister during the fourth and last session of reunions
held at Mt. Geumgang from June 28-30 was the highlight of
Korean and Japanese media reports covering the event with the
hope of shedding more light on Kim's abduction to the DPRK,
as well as his relationship with Megumi Yokota. Kim
Young-nam, however, denied his abduction during a June 29
press conference. Kim also distinguished his case from that
of other abductees that had participated in the Separated
Family Reunions in past rounds by denying that his entry into
the North was "voluntary," and went on to explain that he
ended up in North Korea after being rescued by a North Korean
vessel.

POST-WAR ABDUCTEES
------------------

3. (U) Kim Young-nam's abduction case has brought renewed
attention to North Korea's past kidnappings of South Korean
citizens after the Korean War. According to official
statistics, a total of 3,790 people have been abducted by the
North subsequent to the Korean War. Of these, 3,298 (87
percent) have safely returned to the ROK as a result of
negotiations facilitated by the Korean National Red Cross.
An additional seven have escaped the North, six of whom are
currently living in the South. At present, the ROK
government believes 485 post-war abductees remain detained in
the DPRK. (NOTE: There is also a significant number of
Korean War abductees who were forcibly taken to the North
during the Korean War. Estimates range as high as 84,532,
though a total of 7,034 people are registered as missing in
the 1956 list compiled by the Korean National Red Cross. END
NOTE.).

4. (U) Post-war abductee cases generally fall into three
categories. Approximately 90 percent of abductees are
identified as ROK fishermen. Beginning with the first
kidnapping incident in 1955, North Korea has abducted a total
of 3,692 fishermen, 434 of whom currently remain detained in
the North. The last fishing boat abduction incident was in
May 1995, when North Korean Coast Guards seized eight
fishermen aboard the "No. 86 Woosung-ho." Three of the
Woosung-ho crewmen were killed during a violent struggle with
their abductors. The rest of the crew was released through
Panmunjeom in December 1995.

5. (U) A majority of abduction incidents occurred while
fishermen were in or near North Korean territorial waters in
the West and East Seas. According to the testimony of Lee
Jae-geun, an abducted fisherman who escaped to the South in
2000, DPRK officials interrogated the crewmen of abducted
fishing boats in sessions that could last up to several
months. While screening out possible spies, the North
Koreans would pick those who were either physically fit or
had a high level of education for "special training"; these
individuals would not be released with the rest of the crew
at the conclusion of the interrogation process.

6. (U) There have also been "special case" abductions
involving a Korean Airline plane hijacking incident in 1969,
a Navy I-2 boat abduction incident in 1970, and the abduction
of two South Korean Coast Guards in 1974. Of the 51 people
aboard the Korean Airline flight, 12 people (four crew
members, eight passengers) were prevented from returning back
to the South. The DPRK has refused to release any of the
crewmen on the Navy I-2 boat, as well as the two Coast Guards
captured in 1974.

7. (U) Finally, there are snatching incidents, such as the
case of Kim Young-nam, in which ROK nationals have been
grabbed from either ROK territory or abroad and taken to the
DPRK. There have been five known cases of ROK nationals
being abducted by North Korean secret agents from within
South Korea. All of the five victims were high school
students kidnapped between the years of 1977 and 1978 by DPRK
agents, and all were kidnapped from the beach; none have been
repatriated.

8. (U) A total of 20 ROK nationals have been abducted in
third countries by North Korean agents. Before the
normalization of ROK-PRC diplomatic relations in 1992, most
of the abductions were carried out in Europe, where North
Korean agents had relatively easy access to South Korean
citizens studying, working, or traveling in Europe. The most
recent cases have all taken place in China, however, as the
number of South Koreans traveling to China increased after
the normalization of ROK-PRC relations.

9. (U) Twelve of the 20 overseas abduction victims currently
remain detained in North Korea. The list of detainees
include: a former Labor Attach at the ROK Embassy in West
Germany (and his family), Lee Jae-hwan (son of former
politician Lee Young-wook), and the well-known (and the last
reported DPRK overseas abduction) case of Rev. Kim Dong-shik.
Three of the overseas snatching victims have managed to
escape.

INTER-KOREAN NEGOTIATIONS ON THE ABDUCTEE ISSUE
--------------------------------------------- --

10. (U) Since the inter-Korean summit in June 2000, the ROK
government has attempted to address the abductee issue during
official exchanges (namely inter-Korean Red Cross talks and
inter-Korean ministerial talks) with the DPRK. In 2002, the
two Koreas agreed to cooperate on confirming the fate and
whereabouts of "those reported missing during the Korean War"
(i.e., Korean War POWs and abductees) during the 4th
Inter-Korean Red Cross Talks, which provided the initial
basis for the ROK to officially address the abductee issue
during inter-Korean exchanges. In particular, the ROKG has
also continued to raise the issue of confirming the fate and
whereabouts of "those reported missing after the Korean War"
(i.e., post-war abductees) along with "those reported missing
during the Korean War" (i.e., Korean War POWs and abductees).
The former category of abductees was not included in an
official inter-Korean agreement, however, until recently,
when the two sides agreed to cooperate on confirming the fate
and whereabouts of "those reported missing during and after
the Korean War" at the 7th Inter-Korean Red Cross Talks last
February.

11. (U) The South Korean government regards these agreements
as the DPRK's implicit acknowledgment of the existence of
South Korean POWs and abductees in North Korea. In contrast
to its admission of having abducted Japanese nationals,
however, the DPRK continues to deny that there are South
Korean abductees (and POWs) in North Korea.

12. (U) The ROKG also recognizes that the DPRK's direct
acknowledgment of its past actions regarding the abduction of
South Korean nationals would be imperative in bringing about
substantive progress on the issue. Accordingly, the South
Korean government has recently assumed a stronger stance on
resolving the issue by expressing its will to provide
reciprocal amounts of economic assistance to the North in
return for: (1) confirming the fates and whereabouts of
abductees; (2) reunions between abductees and their families;
and (3) the repatriation of abductees. At the same time, the
ROK has also conveyed the message that it is willing to
review the possibility of returning North Korean "long-term
prisoners" in the South to the DPRK, if the abductee issue is
successfully resolved.

SEPARATED FAMILY REUNIONS
-------------------------

13. (U) Meanwhile, Seoul has regularly included abductees
(as well as POWs) as candidates for Separated Family
Reunions, in order to address the abductee issue under the
broader category of "separated families." In the course of
13 rounds of Separated Family Reunions from Nov. 2000 to Feb.
2006, a total of 12 POWs and 12 abductees were able to meet
with their families in the South, while the fates and
whereabouts of approximately 110 POWs and abductees (includes
those that participated in the family reunions) have been
confirmed. Abductees participating in the Separated Family
Reunions, however, have all denied that they were abducted to
the North by repeating statements regarding their "voluntary"
entry into the DPRK.

SOUTH KOREAN POLITICAL AND PUBLIC VIEWS ON THE ISSUE
--------------------------------------------- -------

14. (U) On the other hand, South Korean political and public
reactions regarding the ROKG's efforts to resolve the issue
have been mixed. The Grand National Party (GNP), South
Korea's main opposition, has been generally critical of the
government's "quiet" approach on addressing the issue, and
has continually called on the ROK government to assume a more
assertive position in its dealings with the North on the
issue. The position of North Korean human rights
organizations has been mostly consistent with that of the
GNP. For example, Han Ki-hong of NKNet recently told poloff
that the ROKG could not continue to take "lukewarm
approaches" to resolving the issue of ROK POWs and abductees.
At the same time, abductee family organizations (that will
be the direct beneficiaries of any positive developments on
the issue) have been supportive of the ROKG's efforts to
arrange reunions for abduction victims and their families
(and confirm the fates and whereabouts of victims) during
Separated Family Reunions.


COMMENT
-------

15. (SBU) The Roh Moo-hyun administration is under intense
political pressure to account for the fate of some 485
abductees. For many South Koreans, such an accounting is the
reciprocal side of extending economic assistance to North
Korea. So far at least, the ROKG has been held back,
concerned that pushing the issue too aggressively would set
back the inter-Korean engagement process. South Korean
public pressure is not, however, likely to die soon. Kim
Young-nam's improbable denial of his abduction has only
renewed public awareness of North Korea's past kidnappings of
ROK citizens and will prompt further calls for the ROKG to
redress this matter. END COMMENT.
VERSHBOW

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