The abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

Victims abducted by North Korea throughout the world

(National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea )

NATIONALITYNUMBER OF VICTIMSSOURCES / REMARKS
South Korean82 959South-Korean Government Inquiry (number of people abducted during the Korean War)
517South-Korean Government Inquiry (number of people abducted after the armistice, excluding those who were able to return to South Korea).
JapaneseApprox. 100Number estimated by the associations of families of victims and by the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea
17Number of victims identified by the Japanese government, plus Hideko Watanabe’s 2 children (of North Korean nationality), identified by the police.
Lebanese4Abducted in 1978 and rescued in 1979. One of the victims was the wife of an American seviceman.
Thai1Wife of an American serviceman.
Romanian1Wife of an American serviceman.
Chinese (from Macau)2Choi Un-Hee, a South Korean abducted by North Korea, gave precise details about one of the two Chinese victims.
Malaysian4Choi Un-Hee heard about this while in captivity. In August 1978, one of the four Malaysians who disappeared the same day was sighted by Mr Jenkins in Pyongyang.
Singaporean1Disappeared at the same time as the 4 Malaysians.
French3One of the Lebanese victims testified to having seen them in captivity in 1978.Choi Un-Hee et Kim Hyon-hi, the terrorists of flight KAL858 heard about them when they were in North Korea.
Italian3One of the Lebanese victims testified to having seen them in captivity in 1978.
Dutch2One of the Lebanese victims testified to having seen them in captivity in 1978.
Jordanian1Choi Un-Hee declared having seen this person.
American1Disappeared in Yunnan province, China, 2004
  • With the exception of Japan and South Korea, where men count amongst the vicitms, all the abducted people were women.
  • In January 2004, an American citizen, pastor Kim Don-shik, (his wife and children are also American) was kidnapped by North Korea.
  • 10th August, 2004, David Sneddon, an American student, disappeared while he was in Yunnan province. Strong suspicions of abduction weigh on North Korea.