The son of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korean authorities spoke at a UN panel and called for international support to bring his mother and other victims back home.
Koichiro Iizuka is the son of Yaeko Taguchi, who was abducted and taken to North Korea in 1978, NHK news agency reported.
Iizuka addressed a UN panel discussion on human rights violations by North Korea at the UN Office in Geneva on Monday.
He said despite turning 38 this year, he has no memories of his mother. She was kidnapped when he was just one, robbing him of the chance to enjoy a precious bond.
Iizuka said the parents and siblings of some victims have died without being reunited with their loved ones, despite waiting decades for the chance.
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He urged representatives from member nations of the UN Human Rights Council to help resolve the situation immediately.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea, Marzuki Darusman, said it's time for the international community to take resolute action against violations in Pyongyang.
The Japanese government said North Korean agents kidnapped at least 17 Japanese nationals in the 1970s and '80s. Twelve of them are still unaccounted for.
Pyongyang set up an investigative committee for a fresh probe into the abductees and other missing Japanese in July 2014. But no results are out yet.
