TOKYO: A former North Korean spy responsible for the 1987 bombing of a Korean Air jetliner flew to Japan Tuesday to meet the families of Japanese abducted by North Korean agents, a report said.
Kim Hyon Hui, who arrived on a government-chartered flight from South Korea, where she lives, will meet relatives of Megumi Yokota and Yaeko Taguchi, the Kyodo news agency said, quoting government sources.
Kim, 48, left Haneda airport by car for her destination possibly in central Japan, where she is expected to meet the families, Kyodo reported.
North Korea in 2001 admitted to 13 abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 80s. It allowed five victims to return home but said eight more had died -- a claim Japan has rejected.
Japan insists North Korea is still hiding survivors and has abducted more people than it admits, in a dispute that has hardened positions and proved a stumbling block in talks to end Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons programme.
Yokota was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 aged 13 on her way home from school and taken to North Korea, Kyodo said, adding that Pyongyang said she died in North Korea, but her family does not believe the claim.
Shortly after the bombing that killed all 115 people aboard the Korean Air jetliner, Kim was arrested in Bahrain and sent to South Korea. She was sentenced to death in 1989 for her role in the bombing but was freed later under a presidential pardon.
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba issued a special permit for her to enter Japan, Kyodo said, despite Japanese immigration law denying entry to foreign nationals sentenced to one year or more in jail.
Meanwhile Japanese police are expected to forgo questioning her about her alleged use of a fake Japanese passport in the bombing incident in consideration of South Korea`s wishes.
Kyodo quoted the sources saying Kim may be staying outside Tokyo with some movement restrictions as Japan is tightening her security at the request of South Korea.
Kim`s itinerary and activities in Japan have been kept secret due to security concerns.
BDST: 0920 HRS, July 20, 2010
