[USFK Forums] North Korea tells South 21 POWs, abductees still alive [Reuters]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee, Wednesday, October 26, 2005] Here is a Reuters news on POWs and abductees while the North's response is unprecedented.
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Yahoo! Asia News

Tuesday October 25, 2:44 PM

North Korea tells South 21 POWs, abductees still alive

SEOUL (Reuters) - Ten South Korean prisoners of war and 11 civilian abductees are still alive in North Korea, the South Korean Unification Ministry said on Tuesday.

North Korean authorities gave the number in response to Seoul's request for information about 50 prisoners of war who went missing during the 1950-53 Korean War and another 50 people the South believes the North abducted since then. "North Korea has confirmed there are 11 abductees and 10 prisoners of war alive in the North," a ministry official said by telephone on condition of anonymity.

While the North's response is unprecedented, the figures are far below the more than 540 prisoners of war many in the South -- including the Red Cross -- believe are still alive in the North. Nearly 500 civilian abductees are also believed to be alive, many of them fishermen captured at sea.

Japan has been talking sporadically with the North about the fate of Japanese citizens Pyongyang abducted in the 1970s and 1980s to help train spies. The North has said it abducted 13 people, five of whom have returned to Japan with their children. Pyongyang says the other eight are dead.