I would like to direct you to The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. They have a lot of information which answers most of your questions about abductions in the border area.

http://www.hrnk.org/publications.htm

And while I’m here and apologizing, as regards your most recent Loren Maazel slam, what did Leonard Bernstein do wrong anyway? Sadly, I’m not up on the latest “Lenny” lit, but I do recall an ecstatic Beethoven 9 he did in Berlin in 1990 in which he at least appeared to be more pro-freedom than Friedrich Schiller and Sarah Palin put together. And if you want to trap Loren Maazel more thoroughly, I suggest just reading everything he said about his opera 1984 and then wondering how the Maestro magically seems to forget everything he said.

Anyway, thanks for the info on Reverend Kim…

On pages 34-35 of Mike Kim’s book Escaping North Korea (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), the author identifies the similar-sounding case of “Missionary Lee,” who, unlike Kim, was ultimately returned after paying a $3600 bribe. Lee supposedly wrote a detailed report about his experiences but, short of contacting Mike Kim to track it down, I have yet to find it.

Are there more comprehensive resources available, such as a think tank report, on this issue of North Korean abductions from China, or a book (perhaps in Korean?) about Rev. Shik’s case? I would agree with you that this is a very important case, particularly if it is one of a series of actions taken by North Korea in China (with or without PRC government approval, which is a related and equally important issue).

Just for the record, this 2004 article in Chosun Ilbo reveals that the photo in your post finds Reverend Shik in an expansive mood with a young North Korean judo champion, whose 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medal the Reverend is proudly wearing. Another sad moment in the history of North Korean cultural/sports diplomacy…

Thanks for coming back to this issue; it’s one of the big unresolved questions I have about the North Korean-Chinese relationship in the borderlands and I’m glad you’re still posting about it. Any comments you had about the “aberration vs. documented pattern” question would be highly appreciated.