Tokyo demands Seoul apologise for Kim’s abduction
Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Japan has called for an apology from the South Korean government for the 1973 abduction by South Korean agents of then-dissident Kim Dae-jung on Japanese soil with the “tacit approval” of the then-dictator Park Chung-hee. Despite this the South Korean government has so far made no claim of responsibility.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said: “At the time, Japan made great efforts to investigate but failed to find out the truth. It will be never acceptable if South Korea keeps holding Japan responsible. It remains to be seen whether Seoul will apologize for having violated Japanese sovereignty”.
The request arrived on the heels of yesterday’s publication of the final report by the Korean Intelligence Service truth commission, shedding light on many different episodes which took place under the Korean military dictatorship among them the kidnap of Kim and the blast on Kal flight 858. According to the text, “even if there are no direct links to the then-president Park, evidence points to circumstances which prove his involvement in them”.
Kim Dae-jung was kidnapped from a hotel in the Japanese capital in 1973 and brought out the of the country to his homeland where he was held under house arrest. The international communities suspicions immediately point to Korean Intelligence, who answered directly to the dictator: despite this no one was able to prove that he was involved.
The situation found a political solution in an accord signed in 1975, which did not indicate those responsible but denied the involvement of both governments. After the fall of the dictatorship, Kim became president in 1997 and opened up a channel of communication with the North. He won the Noble Peace Prize in 2000.
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