Megumi Yokota, a Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s when she was 13, had died in 1994 at a psychiatric ward in Pyongyang, North Korean defectors said Friday.
Choi Sung-yong, who represents an organization of families of abductees here, said he has helped the Japanese government’s probe into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals forcibly taken to North Korea decades ago.
“We have confirmed how Megumi died through testimonies from two defectors who worked at the mental hospital where Megumi was hospitalized,” Choi told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
She died in April 1994, while receiving drug treatment at the No. 49 Hospital in Pyongyang, and her body was buried on a nearby hill, according to Choi.
If found true, it would be a shock to Japanese people, as many of them believe that Megumi is still alive. It would also affect relations between Pyongyang and Tokyo.
Megumi is a symbol of Japanese people abducted by North Korea.
Pyongyang admitted in 2002 to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens.
Five subsequently returned to Japan. North Korea said the remaining eight were dead.
North Korea earlier returned what it claimed to be Megumi’s remains, claiming she had committed suicide. But DNA analysis by Japanese authorities showed they were not her remains. (Yonhap)
