WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/wither-the-abductees-in-a-post-kim-jong-il-north-korea

FROM THE INDEPENDENT LENS BLOG, December 20, 2011

With news of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, we immediately thought of the implications for the Japanese citizens abducted by Kim’s regime and never returned. So we asked Chris Sheridan, who made Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story with co-director Patty Kim and Academy Award-winning producer Jane Campion, to provide us with an update.

KIM JONG-IL DEATH BRINGS NEW HOPE, FEARS FOR JAPANESE ABDUCTEES
by Chris Sheridan

The death of Kim Jong-il this week is a bittersweet moment for the families of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean secret agents in the 1970s and 1980s. On the one hand, many of them are pleased the man they believe is personally responsible for their loved ones’ disappearance is now history. But they are now faced with uncertainty as they deal with Kim Jong-un, a new leader whose positions on every issue, including the fate of their relatives, is a total mystery.

In 2002, Kim Jong-il admitted his secret agents kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens, including Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old girl who was walking home from school in 1977 when she vanished. Megumi’s parents were the centerpiece for our film Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story as their struggle to get answers about their daughter’s disappearance went to the highest levels of government eventually affecting Japan’s discussions over North Korea’s burgeoning nuclear weapons program.

North Korea returned five of the 13 people in October, 2002. They claim the rest are dead, the victims of various accidents. Megumi, say North Korean officials, killed herself. But Megumi’s parents don’t believe North Korea’s claim and with the support of the Japanese government, have pressed for more concrete proof ever since. In 2004, North Korea returned what it claimed were her charred remains but the results of DNA tests proved inconclusive.

After the announcement of Kim Jong-il’s death, Megumi’s parents, who are the most well-known of all the abductees’ families, summed up the sentiment of many of the relatives of those kidnapped. “I’m not sure if this will lead in a positive or negative direction,” said Shigeru Yokota, Megumi’s 79-year-old father. “But I fear there will be chaos inside North Korea, which means they’ll stay away from the abduction issue.” Meanwhile, Megumi’s mother, Sakie, put her thoughts about Kim’s death very simply, “I wish Kim Jong-il had released the people who were abducted before he passed away.”

Shigeo Iizuka, whose sister is among those kidnapped citizens that North Korea claims are dead, said Monday, “I’m worried about who’ll be in charge of resolving the abduction problem on the North Korean side.” And, like many families of the abductees, he wonders if Kim Jong-un will even care enough to want to doanything. “Is Mr. Jong-un a person who’ll understand us? Or are we going to have to be more aggressive?” Kenichi Ichikawa, whose brother was kidnapped in 1978 — North Korea claims he’d since drowned — hopes that Kim Jong-un will view the abduction issue as a relic from a past government, and that “will lead to the possibility the abductees will be freed.”

Meanwhile, those Japanese citizens who were returned home to Japan in 2002, after spending a quarter of a century in North Korea, all expressed very similar concerns over the safety of fellow abductees who may still be alive in North Korea. “I ask the Japanese government to carefully monitor the situation and do its best to ensure the safety of those who are still there,” said Kaoru Haisuke, who was taken in 1978.

Some see the transition ofpower in North Korea as a clear chance to gain answers, and ultimately rescue loved ones — children, brothers, and sisters — who’d been kidnapped decades ago. Hitomi Soga, who was kidnapped along with her mother back in 1978 and returned to Japan in 2002, said, “I hope utmost efforts will be made [by those concerned] to make use of this opportunity and bring home all abductees.”

NORTH KOREA FREEDOM FEST 2011

Hi all...if you're in the Washington, DC area on April 25 and 26, please join us for the first-ever North Korea Freedom Fest, which will highlight three award-winning documentaries including ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story. Held at the West End Cinema. www.westendcinema.com

This event is part of North Korea Freedom Week.

PETER FRAMPTON DEDICATES SONGS TO MEGUMI

Well over 30 years since he shot to global fame with his iconic album, “Frampton Comes Alive!”, the U.K. rock guitarist and singer Peter Frampton is still writing about the 1970s. But don’t expect tales of rock’n’roll excess: Mr. Frampton has dedicated two tracks on his latest album to Megumi Yokota, a Japanese woman abducted as a girl by North Korean agents over 30 years ago and still unaccounted for.

The album, “Thank You Mr. Churchill,” contains the tracks “Asleep at the Wheel,” an extended lament for Ms. Yokota’s plight, and the instrumental, “Suite Liberte,” the first part of which is titled “Megumi”.

Ms. Yokota was kidnapped from the northern coastal city of Niigata in 1977 at age 13 by North Korean agents so she could help train North Korean spies. She reportedly married and had a child in Pyongyang. In 1997, North Korea admitted to the abduction, but said she committed suicide in 1994. Tests of DNA remains handed over to the Japanese authorities were inconclusive, and her parents and their supporters believe she is still alive.

In an e-mailed response to queries through his publicist, Mr. Frampton said he began thinking about Ms. Yokota after seeing a documentary about her on a PBS program called “Independent Lens”. “I taped the show and watched it over and over as I couldn’t believe it,” said the 60-year-old rocker and father of three. “The documentary made me think what if it was my child one day on the way to school that never came home? That could be me. That’s why it hit me so hard. It struck a deep emotional nerve.”

In “Asleep at the Wheel,” Mr. Frampton sings:

“So hard to imagine, when taken by strangers against your will,

you swallow in silence with petrified tears, bound and so still,

God knows what you’re thinking ’cause life as you knew it has just disappeared.”

At about the same time Ms. Yokota was abducted, Mr. Frampton was reaching the pinnacle of his fame. “Frampton Comes Alive!” was released in 1976 and was the best-selling album in the U.S. that year. It went on to become one of the best-selling live albums of all time.

While Mr. Frampton said he would “love” to visit Japan, he doesn’t have any plans to do so soon. If he does come, he said he would “love to meet Megumi’s parents”, especially if it would help raise awareness of the issue.

OBAMA TALKS ABOUT ABDUCTEES

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009

Abductees' kin hail Obama's North stance
Kyodo News

Relatives of people abducted by North Korea praised U.S. President Barack Obama's speech Saturday for delivering a strong, clear message that the matter should be settled.

"He sent a clear message to North Korea and it meant that (Pyongyang) needs to change its approach to international society," said Shigeru Yokota, whose daughter, Megumi, was taken to the reclusive country in 1977 at age 13.

Yokota, who turned 77 on Saturday, and his wife, Sakie, 73, were among invitees to Suntory Hall in Tokyo where Obama touched on the abduction issue in a major address on his first trip to Asia since taking office in January.

"The path for North Korea to realize this future is clear: a return to the six-party talks; upholding previous commitments, including a return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; and the full and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Obama said.

"And full normalization with its neighbors can only come if Japanese families receive a full accounting of those who have been abducted," he said.

Sakie Yokota said she hopes the North will take Obama's speech seriously.

"It was a strong message and I'm pleased with it," she said. "Obama took up the abduction issue with impressive words that clearly showed his policy. I feel things will start moving in the right direction."

Obama's remarks on North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals came in his first major speech about his foreign policy on Asia, in which he also pledged to strengthen the relationships between the United States and other Asia-Pacific nations.

"We will do so through our close friendship with Japan — which will always be a centerpiece of our efforts in the region," Obama told the audience of about 1,500 people, which included invitees from the political and business circles, as well as traditional Japanese arts.

Among the lawmakers in the audience, Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan of the Democratic Party of Japan described Obama's speech as "impressive."

"I was impressed with the way he made clear that the United States places importance on its ties with the Asia-Pacific region," Kan said of the speech, which also stated that the U.S. commitment to Japan's and Asia's security is "unshakable."

American journalists Laura Ling (right) and Euna Lee reunite with their families after nearly 5 months in North Korea.


Hi folks...

Seeing those two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, walk off that plane last week in California recalled those images of the Japanese abductees returning to Tokyo in 2002 into the loving arms of their families for the first time in 25 years. We couldn't help feel a mixture of happiness and sadness when Ms. Lee and Ms. Ling finally came home. The Yokota family has waited more than 30 years to see Megumi again and many, many attempts to get her back have proved fruitless, much to the frustration of her family and the Japanese people. A film writer contacted us recently to ask us to react to the return of the Americans since he, too, saw the parallels having seen the film when it was first released in 2006. Our interview is below. We only hope that there is some kind of bounce from the Clinton trip to North Korea that may create a new spark in the effort to get answers about Megumi...


FROM WHAT WOULD TOTO WATCH BLOG

http://whatwouldtotowatch.com/2009/08/10/wwtw-interview-abduction-filmmaker-chris-sheridan/

WWTW Interview: ‘Abduction’ filmmaker Chris Sheridan
AUGUST 10, 2009
When news broke about two American journalists arrested in North Korea, my first thoughts went to a terrific 2006 documentary recalling the disappearance of an innocent Japanese girl.

“Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story,” by filmmakers Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim, documented how North Korean spies kidnapped a 13-year-old Japanese girl as well as many other citizens.

So, WWTW reached out to Sheridan for his thoughts on the journalists’ release and the impact the news might have for others in a similar situation.

WWTW: What was your first reaction when you heard two American journalists has been arrested by North Korean officials?

CS: I have to say that my first reaction was: “that could’ve been me.”


My second reaction was: “there’s going to be a lot fewer American journalists going to the border now.” I think that was probably a common reaction amongst journalists and filmmakers who’ve been to dicey parts of the world. When you’re dealing with North Korea, you’re dealing with a country that plays by its own rules that change by the minute depending on what mood they’re in. Laura Ling and Euna Lee now understand that.

Many, many journalists and filmmakers have been along the same border and probably crossed in and out of North Korea, sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. They just happened to be there when North Korea needed some leverage in their ongoing dispute with the United States.

When I read the news, I knew North Korea would use them for some political ends. The North Koreans have been annoyed at the U.S., Japan and South Korea for the past year over the breakdown of talks over the nuclear issue. And they’re probably not too happy about the way the Western media portrays the whole dispute. This was a perfect way for them to jab the media in the eye and tell them to back off. Guarantee you that it worked. Anyone working on a documentary now is going to think twice about sneaking close to the Chinese-North Korean border. The same way that more than a few journalists and filmmakers probably thought twice about venturing outside the green zone in Iraq once people started getting their heads chopped off.

The real question that will need to be answered as a result of this trip is: “what did North Korea get from the Clinton trip?” They rarely do favors for others unless they get something in return. Kim Jong Il knows that when he’s talking to Bill, he’s talking to Hillary so I’m sure there was a laundry list of demands. Would love to know what those are especially since they are most likely related to the issue of whether North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons program.

WWTW: The two journalists have been freed …. what are the ramifications of this?

CS: This may, hopefully, shed some light on Kim Jong Il himself. Nothing earth-shattering but it may give policymakers and pundits a chance to see how this man’s brain works. The Clinton trip was a reaffirmation that Mr. Kim does respond very favorably to celebrities. Yes, Bill Clinton is a former U.S. President. But more importantly, he is a rock star. And he’s the kind of rock star Kim Jong IL might like — a playboy with liberal sensibilities and international appeal. This is a fact that has escaped many negotiators in the past. Bill Richardson has been effective but he’s not a heavyweight. Or, at least, the kind of American who garners big headlines and big interest.

Did you see how eager Kim Jong Il was to get a picture with Clinton? I say send Kobe Bryant and Angelina Jolie next time we send an American delegation to Pyongyang. I bet we’d get a lot further on the diplomatic front than in the past.

WWTW: President Clinton says he spoke to Kim Jong Il about other prisoners/hostages from South Korea? Could the trip make progress on that front, or at least give added exposure to these cases?

CS: I have to say that seeing those two Americans get off the plane was a little sad for me. I was happy, of course, that they were home and with their families. But knowing that Bill Clinton, with the help of the US government, did in just a few months what the families of the Japanese abductees and their government have been unable to do for more than 30 years gave me a little pang of sadness.

Megumi’s father said as much in a press conference last week following the Americans’ return. Can you imagine how he felt when he saw how quickly those women were returned while his little girl has been stuck inside North Korea for more than 30 years?

The flip side is, of course, that Mr. Clinton is aware that there are others still in North Korea. I do think this will, at the very least, create a greater awareness in the Clinton family, and, by extension, the State Department, of the Japanese abductions. Hopefully, by hearing Euna Lee and Laura Ling’s stories of struggle and hardship in North Korea, Mr. Clinton will take a more personal interest in those people who are still trapped there.

WWTW: Has the U.S. media done an accurate job reporting on the journalists’ situation? What might reporters have done differently or included to make audiences better understand the situation?

CS: I think it’s pretty hard to report anything fairly when it comes to North Korea. And the North Koreans certainly didn’t help themselves by snatching two journalists, trying them quickly and sentencing them to hard labor. Pretty hard to get a fair hearing in the Western press when you take two of their own. Moreover, North Korea has no spokesperson, no think tanks, no PR firms, no advocacy groups, nothing in the United States so it’s kind of difficult to say that the media does a fair job when reporting on anything related to them. That’s not a defense of North Korea, by the way, just a fact.

I think the American media does the best it can with what it has. I think the only thing I would’ve liked to see more of is an attempt to explain why North Korea does what it does from the inside rather than from the outside.

WWTW: Do you still follow the case of the missing people highlighted in your film, “Abduction?”

CS: Absolutely. We correspond with them all the time just to let them know we’re still thinking about them and praying for them. As I said, when the two journalists were freed, I immediately went online to see if the family of Megumi Yokota had reacted. They had. And rightly so. I really, really hope and wish that the Laura Ling and Euna Lee experience will somehow translate into more support for the Japanese abductees.

I will even take it a step further and say that I hope Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee themselves will translate their personal experience into support for the Japanese families since they now understand what it’s like to be taken from their families and denied a chance to live freely.

ABDUCTION WINS DUPONT AWARD!

Hey all,

ABDUCTION has been honored with one of the highest journalism awards in the US. The prestigious Dupont Award was given to the film. Directors Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim will be presented with the Silver Baton at a ceremony on Thursday, January 22nd at Columbia University in New York. The host of the event will be CBS News anchor Katie Couric. The press release is below. For more info, go to

www.journalism.columbia.edu/cs/ContentServer/jrn/1165270069766/page/1175295284582/JRNSimplePage2.htm


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:


Abi Wright, aew2113@columbia.edu, (212) 854-5047
Clare Oh, clare.oh@columbia.edu, (212) 854-5479

2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award Winners Announced
Dallas’ WFAA Wins Highest Honor – First Local Station to Win
Awards Expand to Include Web-only Broadcasts

New York, NY, January 12, 2009—Thirteen winners of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards were announced today by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. WFAA-TV, Dallas, will receive a Gold Baton, the awards’ highest honor, for its continuing commitment to outstanding investigative reporting. It will be the first time a local station has won a Gold Baton in that award’s 20-year history.

Selected by the duPont Jury for excellence in broadcast journalism, the award-winning news programs aired in the United States between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008. The honorees will be presented with duPont Batons at a ceremony on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at Columbia University.

The duPont Jury also announced today that it is expanding the categories of entries for 2008-2009 to include Web-only news broadcasts. The Jury will look for the best example of an original news story using video or audio that is broadcast exclusively on the Web.

This year’s awards will go to news programs featuring a wide range of topics and production styles. They include international reports, such as ABC News Nightline’s gripping combat reporting in eastern Afghanistan; NPR’s breaking news coverage of the earthquake in China; CNN’s global documentation of the rise of religious fundamentalism; and a courageous report from Current TV on Russian neo-Nazis. Other programs to be honored include an illuminating California Newsreel investigation into health disparities in the United States; a prescient radio coproduction from NPR and This American Life about the subprime mortgage crisis; a chilling investigation into corrupt pediatric dental clinics by WJLA-TV, Washington, DC; and a series of reports by WTVT-TV, Tampa, that freed a wrongfully convicted man from prison.

“This remarkable and diverse group of duPont winners is a tribute to the excellent reporting done by journalists in local and national markets across the country. We honor these journalists for telling vital stories that bring critical issues to light,” said Ann Cooper, duPont Jury chair and coordinator of the broadcast department at the Journalism School.

CBS News Anchor and 60 Minutes Correspondent Katie Couric will host the awards ceremony on Thursday, January 22, 2009 in the Rotunda of Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library. Couric will be joined by NBC News Co-Anchor Hoda Kotb and Ira Glass of This American Life in presenting 13 duPont Batons at the evening ceremony.

ABC News’ Bob Woodruff interviewed several of the duPont winners for the PBS special program Telling the Truth: The Best in Broadcast Journalism, premiering January 15. Check local listings. Telling the Truth, an annual feature on public television stations, includes excerpts of the winning duPont programs and explores how these reporters and producers develop leads, pursue their investigations, get access to for critical interviews and sometimes risk their lives to get the story. The program is produced by Will Cohen and Martin Smith of RAINmedia.

The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards honoring excellence in broadcast journalism were established in 1942 by Jessie Ball duPont in memory of her husband, Alfred I. duPont. With his cousins, Mr. duPont transformed their gunpowder company into the chemical company E.I. duPont de Nemours. He later created a successful financial institution in Florida and was owner of a chain of small-town newspapers in Delaware.

The duPont Awards, administered since 1968 by Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, are considered to be the most prestigious broadcast journalism awards and the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes, which are also administered at the Journalism School.
Learn more about the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism at www.dupont.org.

Abi Wright
Director, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards,
John Chancellor Award
Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University
212-854-5047
www.journalism.columbia.edu

"ABDUCTION" FEATURED ON CBS NEWS!

On Monday, July 7th, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric featured "ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story". Patty Kim, co-director of the film, was interviewed as part of the story. See it by putting this site in your browser:

www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4239652n