North Korea on Thursday confirmed the whereabouts of a South Korean citizen abducted decades ago and said it would soon arrange a meeting between him and his South Korean family members.
"During the 18th North-South ministerial talks held in April in Pyongyang, our side notified that our related offices were investigating the issue of Kim Young-nam," the North's chief delegate to the inter-Korean dialogue told his South Korean counterpart in a letter carried by the country's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"Our related offices recently confirmed the whereabouts of Kim Young-nam," the report said.
The letter, from the North's senior Cabinet councilor Kwon Ho-ung, was also delivered Wednesday to the South's chief delegate to the Cabinet-level talks, Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, the KCNA report said.
A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed receiving the letter, but said the "letter arrived shortly before" the KCNA report.
The confirmation comes shortly before the divided Koreas are set to hold a new round of reunions between families separated by the division of the countries.
About 200 families from each side are to be united with their long-lost family members in two sessions at the North's scenic resort on Mount Geumgang from June 19 to 30.
Kim made international headlines in April when the Japanese government claimed the South Korean might have married a Japanese citizen, Megumi Yokota, also abducted to the communist state nearly 30 years ago as a student, and fathered a child there.
Seoul conducted its own DNA tests on Kim's suspected daughter and his relatives, including his 82-year-old mother Choi Gye-wol, and confirmed the two are likely grandmother and granddaughter.
DNA samples of Kim's suspected daughter, Kim Hye-gyeong, were obtained by Japanese officials visiting Pyongyang late last year, and Japan later handed over part of the samples to the Seoul government.
"In this regard the North side decided to arrange his reunion with his mother from the South side at a special reunion between separated families and relatives to be held at Mount Geumgang resort on the sixth anniversary of the publication of the June 15 joint declaration, prompted by compatriotism and humanitarianism," an English version of the KCNA report said.
North Korea, however, did not mention the woman believed to be Kim's daughter, or whether she would also be at the reunion.
The North also warned of a possible cancellation of the meeting, saying, "It is the hope of the North side that the authorities of your side (South Korea) will take a responsible measure to prevent such possible happenings inside the South as obstructing Kim Young-nam's reunion with his mother."
The North had claimed Megumi Yokota had married a North Korean named Kim Chul-jin and that she killed herself after giving birth to Hye-gyeong.
Pyongyang handed over what it claimed to be remains of Yokota, but Japanese tests showed that the remains are someone else, a reason Tokyo believes Yokota is still alive and hidden in the communist state. Seoul, June 8 (Yonhap News)
N. Korea says kidnapped S. Korean alive, to meet his family this month |
