Pyongyang Caught Lying About Second Set of Remains

Another day, another PR disaster for North Korea. Yesterday, we failed to learn the fate of Megumi Yokota, kidnapped in 1977 at age 13; DNA tests proved that the remains Pyongyang handed over and said were Megumi’s weren’t. North Korea also gave President Koizumi a set of remains it claimed belonged to Kaoru Matsuki, who was kidnapped in 1980 at the age of 26. North Korea claimed that Kaoru was killed in a car accident in 1986. DNA tests released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry today proved that the remains actually belonged to four different people, and that Kaoru is not one of those four people. More here.

After the Megumi revelation, parliamentarians from three Japanese political parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, submitted a resolution calling for the government to consider imposing sanctions. The Yomiuri reports this reaction from the head of the Japanese government’s task force on the abductions:

Now that it has become clear that the North Koreans have no intension of abiding by the Pyongyang Declaration in a sincere manner, it is meaningless to have further talks with them.

The Asahi Shimbun also believes pressure for sanctions will continue to grow, even suggesting that the LDP had intended to hold up the prospect of talks to fend off calls for sanctions, but that the new North Korean revelations had preempted that strategy. Those opposed to sanctions seem much less likely to oppose them publicly at this point. Its editorial begins with the words, “Kim Jong Il should realize how angry the Japanese are.”* A poll conducted by the Kyodo News Agency shows that more than 75% of Japanese now favor sanctions.

The Yomiuri report also talks about the importance of Japanese trade to North Korea, and the effect sanctions might have. It defies explanation that any state–even North Korea–would handle its diplomacy with a key trading partner this way at a time when it is economically vulnerable.

To further illustrate just how fast a little candor can get out of control, one returned abductee is reporting that fellow abductee Yaeko Taguchi–who Pyongyang claims has since died–was used to train the North Korean terrorists who blew up a South Korean airliner in 1987, killing all aboard. If you wonder why North Korea might not be willing to turn over a living hostage, this might be a good explanation. Nothing good can come of demanding the return of a person who has that kind of knowledge. Miss Taguchi was just 22 when she was kidnapped from a beach in Japan.

Will this have broader implications? Very possibly so. The controversy comes on a day when Japan is revising its defense doctrine to take on a greater global military role. OhMyNews will no doubt be calling the timing a–wait for it–conspiracy! Those with a crippling dependency on evidence and logic might wonder where Pyongyang acquired its special talent for shooting itself in the foot.

* This editorial suggests that the discovery about Kaoru’s remains happened two years ago. The other reports say the announcement was first made yesterday. Typo? Am I missing something?