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The identities of nearly two dozen fishermen abducted by North Korea 30 to 40 years ago have been confirmed through a photo taken 23 years ago.
The Chosun Ilbo has obtained a group photo of 31 fishermen abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 70s. The photo, obtained through Choi Sung-yong, 56, president of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea, was taken during a summer indoctrination program for abductees in Najin, North Hamgyong Province in 1985.
The Chosun Ilbo confirmed the identities of 22 of the abductees by showing the photo to other South Korean fishermen who were abducted to the North but escaped, and families of the abductees.
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A souvenir photo of 31 South Korean fishermen abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 70s. The photo was taken in Najin, North Hamgyong Province in 1985. The identity of 22 have been confirmed by their families and the Chosun Ilbo.
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It is estimated that some 480 South Koreans abducted after the Korean War are still held in the North. Seven others have escaped and returned home. Some of the 22 whose identities have been confirmed are not on Seoul's official list of known abductees.
In the 1970s and 80s, Pyongyang sent abducted South Korean fishermen to three-month group indoctrination sessions in Najin and Wonsan every four to six years. Escaped abductees have said they were sent to around three such sessions each until the mid-1980s.
Choi Uk-il, 68, an abductee who escaped to the South in 2007, said the fishermen were indoctrinated with others from different boats so that they couldn't hear news of their former crew mates. Ironically they ended knowing the stories of crews from other boats.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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