The Ministry of Unification is verifying an acquired North Korean internal register of 571 people abducted to North Korea after the Korean War.
Assembled by the Chosun Red Cross, the document reveals that the number of postwar abductees has risen by 54 people, increasing the number from 517 to 571. The Ministry of Unification is said to have handed the documents over to Choi Song Ryong, Delegate from the Families of Abducted and Detained in North Korea, but is yet to be clarified by sources.
The Chosun Red Cross document details, “the research on 554 legal and 17 foreign re-settlers is under way upon request from the People’s Safety Agency.”
In an August 2008 version by the Chosun Red Cross, names of 14 North Korean defectors kidnapped overseas are classified separately. The register contains the names of the abductees, contact information, and date of death. The register, however, does not contain a special list of those kidnapped from South Korean territory.
The list includes Mrs. Shin Suk Ja and her two daughters, Oh Hye Won (36) and Oh Gyu Won (34). The project “Daughter of Tongyong” began last year for their rescue. Mr. Shin has been categorized as ‘cannot contact’ and her two daughters remain on a survivor’s list.
Mrs. Shin’s husband, Dr. Oh Kil Nam, recalled that his wife’s name was listed in an apartment record as ‘Shin Suk Hui’ instead of Shin Suk Ja. He recalled in his memoirs that her name may have been changed due to the name ‘Ja’ appearing Japanese.
Others on the list include Lee Jae Hwan, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, and Sergeant Park Song Ryong of the Tiger Division. Lee Jae Hwan was abducted in July 1987 while on an exchange program in Austria. Sergeant Park Song Ryong disappeared on November 3rd, 1965 while on guard at the coastal city of Quy Nhon on the central front of the Vietnam War. He is reported to have survived until 2008.
“The authenticity and reliability of the list is still under examination,” however, “the identities of foreign abductees to North Korea are correct” said an informed source from the Ministry of Unification.
