My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and am now a writer who has

published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                             The Japanese families of those who were kidnapped by the North Koreans

back in the 1970's and 1980's have taken their cases to the International Criminal Court in the Hague

(Netherlands) to hopefully force the North Korean government of Kim Jong-un to provide information

on all of those who were taken hostage by the North Korean government decades ago. Whether or

not it will succeed (it most likely will not), at least it is putting a spotlight on those poor unfortunate

loved ones who were taken against their will by North Korean agents and either killed or used to

train more North Korean agents to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism around the world. This

remains a source of contention between Japan and North Korea, and should remain an issue since

the North Korean government has never explained why it did this and never provided information, 

never mind compensation, to those who lost loved ones. This is an issue that should equally be

raised by South Korea. More than any other nation, South Korea has lost more of its nationals to

North Korean kidnappings and murder than Japan. This sadly has never come up in any current

negotiations between South Korea and North Korea, and like the kidnapping of the Japanese

hostages is a major issue between North and South Korea. But then we must remember that

North Korea has never kept a promise, never honored an agreement, and certainly does not

respect the territorial integrity of its neighbors. The crimes committed by the North Korean regime

is almost without number, and we must remain vigilant to anything and everything they do.