(LEAD) NK abductees-monument
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| ▲ Julie Turner (R), the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, consoles Kim Tae-ok, mother of Lee Min-gyo who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 on a southwestern island, as the unification ministry held a ceremony unveiling a monument to hope for the safe return of five South Koreans who were kidnapped by the North in the 1970s when they were teenagers. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by the Ministry of Unification on May 24, 2024, shows a monument set up on to hope for the safe return of five South Koreans who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, taken May 24, 2024, shows a ceremony held on Seonyu Island, 200 kilometers southwest of Seoul, to unveil a monument to hope for the safe return of five South Koreans who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s from South Korea's Seonyu and Hong islands. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) NK abductees-monument
(LEAD) S. Korea unveils monument hoping for return of 5 nationals abducted by N. Korea in 1970s
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; CHANGES photos)
By Kim Soo-yeon
GUNSAN, South Korea, May 24 (Yonhap) -- Kim Tae-ok, mother of Lee Min-gyo who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 on a southwestern island, has been living in the desperate hope of meeting her son before she dies.
Lee is among five South Koreans who were kidnapped by North Korean agents between 1977 and 1978 on the Seonyu and Hong islands. Kim's son was abducted on Hong Island and his whereabouts have not been known.
"Please tell Kim Jong-un that I want to reunite with my son. As I am old and my son has a family in North Korea, I just want to see his face before I die even if he cannot return home," Kim, 92, said, while holding hands with Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights.
"I do have children and I'm sorry to hear about the pain that you have had to experience all of these (years)," Turner said.
On a wheelchair, Kim came to Seonyu Island, located 200 kilometers southwest of Seoul off North Jeolla Province, on Friday to attend a ceremony unveiling a monument in hopes of the safe return of those abductees. A similar event will be held Monday on Hong Island, located some 300 kilometer southwest of Seoul off South Jeolla Province.
The event brought together Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho; the U.S. envoy, Turner; Lee Shin-wha, Seoul's envoy for North Korean human rights; and families of the South Korean victims.
"North Korea committed a grave human rights violation against the teenagers," Minister Kim said at the ceremony.
"We once again strongly urge North Korea to return the five back home and proactively resolve the abductee issue," he said.
Turner stressed the family members of these abductees should be "given the opportunity to reunite with their loved ones without restrictions."
Among the abductees, Kim Young-nam, born in 1961, was the only teen kidnapped by the North in August 1977 from Seonyu Island.
He was married in North Korea to Megumi Yokota, a Japanese kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1977 when she was 13. Yokota is a symbol of the Japanese people abducted by North Korea.
The memorial plaque features an image of the five teens returning home by swimming while being aided by star-shaped buoys, a symbol of hope and dreams, the ministry said.
The image of the buoys was created with the motif of three forget-me-nots, a symbol of South Korean abductees, detainees and unrepatriated prisoners of the 1950-53 Korean War.
In a meeting with reporters, Unification Minister Kim said the establishment of the monument will serve as a chance for South Korea, the United States and Japan to enhance their commitment for trilateral cooperation for the resolution of the abductee issue.
Turner said the international community could use the United Nations Human Rights Council's upcoming universal periodic review (UPR) of North Korea in November to jointly urge Pyongyang to address the abductee issue. UPR is a mechanism that calls for each U.N. member state to go through a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years.
"Ambassador Lee mentioned the UPR that is coming up in November, in which all of the governments around the world will have the opportunity to call on North Korea to return family members that need to be returned or to allow those family members to be reunited with their loved ones," said the U.S. envoy.
Currently, six South Koreans are being detained in North Korea, including three missionaries -- Kim Jung-wook, Choi Chun-gil and Kim Kook-kie -- whose whereabouts and fates are unknown.
Separately, 516 South Koreans have yet to return home among an estimated 3,835 people who were kidnapped by North Korea after the Korean War, according to government data.
At least 60,000 prisoners of war (POWs) are also estimated to have not come back home or gone missing after being detained in North Korea. A total of 80 POWs have returned home since 1994, but only nine had been alive as of March.
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