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.