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Tuesday May 16, 2:08 PM2ND LD: Yokota meets kin of S. Korean man likely be daughter's husband(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING COMMENT IN 5TH GRAF)The father of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota met Tuesday with the family of a South Korean man believed to have been abducted to North Korea and to possibly be the husband of Megumi. Shigeru Yokota, 73, has said he hopes that his meeting with the families of South Korean abductee Kim Young Nam -- his mother Choi Gye Wol, 78, and his sister Kim Young Ja, 48 -- will raise public awareness in South Korea about the abduction issue. Yokota, who is on a three-day visit to South Korea from Monday, has also said he hopes his visit will encourage the South Korean government to take steps to achieve the repatriation of abductees. Prior to the meeting, Yokota, his son Tetsuya, 37, and Teruaki Masumoto, 50, whose sister Rumiko was abducted by North Korea, visited the offices of three groups of families of South Korean abductees. Choi U Yong, head of one of the three groups, told the Japanese relatives, "There remain gaps between South Korea and Japan over history and other issues, but we need to promote cooperation over the abduction issue." Kim Young Nam is said to be among five South Korean men abducted by North Korea in 1977 and 1978 when they were between the ages of 16 and 18. North Korea has said Megumi married a man named Kim Chol Jun in 1986 and gave birth to her daughter in 1987. DNA tests by the Japanese government showed in April that Kim Young Nam is highly likely related to Megumi's daughter Kim Hye Gyong. The Japanese government has provided a composite drawing of Kim Chol Jun and his information to the kin of Kim Young Nam, Japanese sources said. "I cannot be confident, but I felt that the feature of the nose in the drawing looks like that of my brother," Kim Young Ja said. Japanese government officials met with Kim Chol Jun in November 2004 when they visited Pyongyang for bilateral talks on the abduction issue. After his arrival in Seoul on Monday, Yokota sent a message to his daughter in a radio message that will soon be broadcast by a South Korean station run by North Korean defectors. "Megumi, this is your father. Everybody in Japan is waiting for you to return as soon as possible," Yokota said in the message, recorded by Freedom North Korea Broadcast, which is beamed to North Korea. Pyongyang has claimed Megumi, abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 at age 13, committed suicide in 1994 while being treated for depression. But her family believes she is still alive in North Korea. |
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