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Nearly 30 years after the Japanese man¡¯s daughter and the Korean woman¡¯s son were abducted by North Korea, the two gripped each other¡¯s hands without a word on Tuesday.
¡±I saw you on TV many times. This is the first time we meet, but you seem so familiar,¡± Shigeru Yokota (73), the father of Japanese abduction victim Megumi Yokota, told Choi Gye-wol (82), the mother of South Korean abductee Kim Young-nam. Kim and Megumi Yokota are said to have been married in the North. Choi thanked him with tears in her eyes.
Kim Young-nam was kidnapped by North Korea in 1978 when he was in high school during an excursion to Seonyu Island. Megumi was kidnapped a year earlier in 1977 when she was just 13 years old. Their parents met for the first time in Seoul after learning that they are probably in-laws.
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Shigeru Yokota (right), father of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota, greets Choi Gye-wol, mother of Kim Young-nam, who is believed forcibly taken to the North in 1978, in Seoul on Tuesday.
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Yokota expressed gratitude that his son-in-law was a South Korean. ¡°I am so lucky to have a South Korean son-in-law, not a North Korean. I am so happy that I can hope that our families may meet one another again.¡± He said the couple ¡°loved each other and had such a beautiful child¡± -- Hae-gyong, who North Korea says is their daughter - ¡°a healthy and sweet girl. I thank Young-nam for taking such good care of my granddaughter and I thank you, too.¡±
Tears prevented Choi from replying, But Kim¡¯s sister Young-ja (48) spoker for her. ¡°Hae-gyong¡¯s picture makes us believe that she is just as pretty as her mother.¡± Pyongyang says Megumi Yokota is dead but has failed to provide convincing evidence.
The elderly parents exchanged presents just as brides and grooms exchange wedding presents. Yokota gave Choi ornaments and a mirror symbolic of the wish for the abduction victims to return soon, while Choi reciprocated with a china cup and saucer. ¡°I will look at this teacup and never forget that we are a family,¡± Yokota told her.
The two families, who were only able to confirm their loved ones¡¯ fate by indirect DNA analysis, had to wrap up their meeting after an all-too-short two-and-a-half hours. Choi and Yokota gripped each other¡¯s hands again and wished each other well, expressing hope that both will be able to see their children again and meet their granddaughter Hae-gyong.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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