Family members of Japanese abducted by North Korea met US president Donald Trump on Monday and welcomed his sympathy for their "very sad" plight, but said it meant nothing unless it led to action to bring home their loved ones.
President Trump has incorporated into his attacks on Pyongyang the story of Megumi Yokota, who was 13 when she was snatched off a lonely beach by North Korean agents 40 years ago. He mentioned her in a speech at the United Nations in September.
For his part, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has said he will not rest until the return of all 13 of those Pyongyang says were kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies, making the issue a keystone of his political career.
On Monday, Mr Trump became the third US president to meet Megumi's mother Sakie. He also met the relatives of seven other abductees Pyongyang says are dead — like Megumi, who hanged herself, according to North Korea.
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US president Donald Trump salutes as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe gestures while reviewing an honour guard at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Monday, November 6, 2017. Kiyoshi Ota / Pool Photo via AP -
US president Donald Trump, centre, feeds carp as Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, centre right, looks on at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan. Trump is on the first stop of a five-nation swing through Asia where he plans to push his message of fair trade and freedom in the region backed by a strong US military presence. Toru Hanai / Pool via Bloomberg -
US president Donald Trump, centre, holds a summit meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. Kazuhiro Nogi / Pool Photo via AP -
US first lady Melania Trump is waved by schoolchildren with national flags of Japan and the US as she leaves after visiting Kyobashi Tsukiji Elementary School in Tokyo. Shizuo Kambayashi / AP Photo -
US first lady Melania Trump finishes her calligraphy helped by a schoolgirl, left, as she attends a calligraphy class of the 4th grader at Kyobashi Tsukiji Elementary School in Tokyo. The part of Japanese words reads: "Peace." A standing woman is an interpreter. Toshifumi Kitamura / Pool Photo via AP -
President Donald Trump, left, and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, speak at a joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. Trump is on a five-country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. Andrew Harnik / AP Photo -
Calligraphy of a part of Japanese words "Peace" written by US first lady Melania Trump is seen during a calligraphy class of the 4th grader at Kyobashi Tsukiji Elementary School in Tokyo. Melania and Japanese prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie attended the calligraphy class. Toshifumi Kitamura / Pool Photo via AP -
US president Donald Trump, left, speaks as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, right, looks on during a joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. Trump is on a five-country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. Andrew Harnik / AP Photo -
US president Donald Trump, centre, shakes hands with with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe next to his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump, centre right, and Japanese First Lady Akie Abe, front fifth right, during an event meeting with families who have had relatives abducted by North Korea, at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. Trump lashed out at the US trade relationship with Japan, saying it was "not fair and open", as he prepared for formal talks with his Japanese counterpart. Jim Watson / AFP
At his joint press conference with Mr Abe, Mr Trump called the abductions "a very, very sad thing." He added, "We'll work together and see if we can do something, now the spotlight is on. Perhaps the regime itself would send them back. I think it would be a tremendous signal if Kim Jong Un would send them back."
The abductions happened during a six-year period between 1977 and 1983, when a number of citizens disappeared from coastal areas of Japan. The kidnappings were apparently opportunistic, carried out by operatives lying in wait. Some were abducted to teach Japanese language and culture at North Korean soy schools. Older victims were also abducted for the purpose of taking their identities and it is believed they were killed immediately. North Korea has officially admitted abducting 13 Japanese but the true number could be much higher.
Megumi's mother and younger twin brothers were later part of a news conference that welcomed Mr Trump's attention on their plight with caution, given that decades have passed with nothing done, not even by Mr Abe's government.
"It seemed the president listened carefully to all our stories and was impressed," said Koichiro Iizuka, an infant abandoned in a creche when his mother, Yaeko Taguchi, was abducted in 1978. "But if this is all that comes of this meeting, it's absolutely outrageous," he added. "It's how we face the previous neglect and take action that's important."
The families can do little, said Megumi's mother, now 81 and visibly frail. "This is an issue of politics, of diplomacy," she said. "All we can say is: please help them."
