N. Korea Lists Emigres to Visit Japan
North Korea on Thursday gave Japan a list of 10 to 15 Japanese women who will be allowed to visit their native land for the first time after emigrating to North Korea decades ago.
About 1,830 Japanese wives accompanied their husbands to North Korea between 1959 and 1982, and many have never been heard from again. The issue has been a sore point between Japan and North Korea, but Tokyo this week announced that it was resuming food aid to its hungry neighbor after an agreement was struck Sept. 9 allowing a few women to return to Japan for a visit.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka declined to release the names of the women on the list, citing privacy concerns. Asked when the visits, which had been scheduled for this month, would take place, Muraoka replied, “Soon.”
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