The National Police Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department sent five officers to South Korea on Sunday to question a North Korean spy suspected of being involved in the disappearance of a man from Miyazaki Prefecture in 1980, NPA and MPD sources said.
Kim Kil Uk, who is currently living on Cheju Island, is suspected of being an accomplice to Sin Gwang Mal in the alleged abduction, they said. Kim was convicted in South Korea of spying and later served a prison term. Sin was also convicted of spying and served a prison term.
Sin was barred from returning to North Korea, but a recent agreement between the two Koreas paved the way for his return to the North on Sept. 2. Sin has reportedly refused to be questioned by Japanese police.
On Friday, the South Korean government released the names of 63 formerly imprisoned North Korean agents to be repatriated Sept. 2, following an agreement between the Red Cross societies of the two countries in late June.
Japan believes at least 10 Japanese nationals were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.