Requiring Compensation for Abduction Issue

In an interview to Mainichi Shimbun, a former senior officer of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea revealed that Chairman of Worker’s Party of Korea, Kim Jong-un, would like to settle the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese people in compensation for huge amount of economic cooperation, which could amount to ¥10 billion or more. Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration in 2002 determines comprehensive solution of the issues of abduction, nuclear and missile. It is hard for Japanese government to solely settle the abduction issue leaving other two.

The officer is former DPRK Deputy Ambassador to United Kingdom, Thae Yong-ho, who defected with his family to South Korea in 2016. The exclusive interview of Mainichi was made in Seoul City, South Korea, in mid-December.

Thae insisted that the key element for solving abduction issue was money. “As long as Japan does not show a bag filled with money, Kim Jong-un will not try to solve the abduction issue,” told Thae. He indicated that North Korea could not offer the solution of economic cooperation, because that might stiffen public opinion in Japan. As presenting necessity of foreign money for saving North Korean economy, Thae elaborated that the issue would be settled in a way preferable to Japan, if Japan could provide with money.

Thae also revealed that a section dealing with abduction issue still remained in DPRK government, contradicting the official announcement that such investigation organization had been dismissed. “Although I don’t know its exact name,” Thae said, “there is an expert section for abduction issue in Ministry for National Security, or secret police.” He assured that DPRK government grabbed all information of the abductees.

Japanese government has been taking a position that North Korea must unconditionally repatriate all the Japanese abductees, find the truth of abduction and hand over the criminals, based on a notion that the abduction was a national crime by North Korea. Japan cannot accept the offer of North Korea as it is. Shinzo Abe administration has been a frontrunner in putting pressure on Kim regime repeating nuclear and missile tests. Economic cooperation will be regarded as a breaching of the international effort.

It is likely that North Korea is in jeopardy for maintaining despotic regime with economic hardship. Thae revealed in the interview that military personnel had negative impression on their poor capability against South Korean forces. Development of nuclear or missile power has to be a tool for persuading military force to keep motivation. Mainichi indicated that it was the time for dialogue with North Korea to determine what they really wanted.