National News Kim admits abducting Japanese: five alive, eight dead, one missing

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Five Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s are alive, but eight others have died there, Pyongyang said during a landmark meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sept. 17.

For the first time, Kim acknowledged North Korea's responsibility for the "regrettable" acts and offered an apology, pledging that such incidents will never be repeated.

Tokyo had listed 11 people as believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents. Pyongyang said that it knows nothing about one of them, but also gave information on three other Japanese who were not on Tokyo's list. It said two of them have died in North Korea and one is still alive.

During their talks in Pyongyang, Kim explained that the abductions were carried out by members of espionage organizations, who sought to have the abductees teach agents the Japanese language and use their identities to allow the agents to enter South Korea for espionage operations.

Kim said Pyongyang has conducted an investigation and already punished those involved. According to Pyongyang, the eight died of illness or in natural disasters. Koizumi said he asked Kim to continue probing the cases and give further explanations to their families.

Pyongyang will allow the four survivors to return or visit their hometowns, "if they wish."