Then there were 19

I was watching West Wing the other day…the first time around for me. The series was popular while I was in Japan and  I missed it.

Thanks to DVDs…I can catch up.

One of the episodes was "17 People." 17 people knew about the fictional president's disease.

The news this morning on Nikkei – "Official List of Abductees is 19" reminded me of the West Wing episode.

In 2002 North Korea finally admitted for the first time to its agents abducting Japanese nationals in the late 70's and early 80's.

I remember a young lady gone missing in my prefecture, Niigata. The word was she had been kidnapped.

The young lady turned up recently. She had been kidnapped, by a Japanese, and locked in a closet for 12 years….not by the North Koreans.

The North Koreans say they abducted 13 people. 5 were returned and the other 8 were said to be dead.

The Japanese official count is 17…until yesterday…now its 19.

Police are saying that two children born to a Japanese woman and North Korean husband were taken in 1973. The mother is dead and the children, now in their 40's, are presumed to be somewhere in Dear Kim's paradise.

The abduction issue is a thorny one to the DPRK. Japan will NOT let it go and the North cannot get any cooperation from Japan until they (the North) come clean to Japan's satisfaction.

That won't happen.

North Korea says there is nothing to produce…Japan says produce it.

Sounds like a familiar exchange to me…and the end result is still pending in that case.

What do you think?

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