North Korea is creating a new headache for the Japanese government: the plight of North Korean residents and their Japanese spouses who have now returned secretly to Japan from that impoverished communist state via China. The problem came to the fore last month when a Japanese woman who had gone to the North with her Korean husband under a post-World War II repatriation program returned home openly under the media spotlight.

According to the Foreign Ministry, scores of North Korean residents who formerly lived in Japan have resettled here with their Japanese wives under covert arrangements. The number of such returnees is expected to rise given the deepening economic crisis in North Korea. The government should give them as much support as it can, particularly if they have Japanese nationality.

The case-by-case approach of the past will not suffice. Much remains to be done -- for example, setting transparent rules for the rescue and receiving of returnees and providing support for their living in Japan. To qualify for assistance, however, some of them may have to be recognized as refugees. The government should work out a comprehensive relief program in consultation with China, South Korea and international organizations.