North Korea: Abduction Policy Netted Thousands

North Korea’s practice of abducting foreigners may have been wider in scope than previously thought.

North Korea may have abducted up to 180,000 foreigners from 14 countries over the last six decades, much more than what has been reported, according to a new report by a U.S.-based human rights watchdog.

Hundreds of foreign abductees whose identities are unknown may remain in closely-monitored detention in the reclusive Stalinist nation, said the report released by The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) on Thursday.

The report, entitled “Taken! North Korea’s Criminal Abduction of Citizens of Other Countries,” said North Korea’s history of abducting foreigners is not restricted to Japan and limited to a small group of people as the regime would have the international community believe.

HRNK unveiled the report at a press briefing in Washington that was attended by the Japanese ambassador and diplomats from South Korea, Thailand, and the Netherlands.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitted the existence of an abduction program to then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during the latter’s visit to Pyongyang in September 2002, but sought to downplay its scale.

The report said that while Kim eventually disclosed the abduction of 13 Japanese nationals, his admission “did not tell the whole story” and left “misleading impressions.”

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