Regarding the Oct. 31 article, "Kim blasts Seoul report on '73 kidnapping": When former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung was kidnapped in 1973 (during his dissident days) while staying in Japan, you could probably accept that there were no Koreans involved other than the kidnappers acting under the orders of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

Although the entire situation could have been controlled by Japanese authorities at the time, the kidnapping was not checked by any Japanese police or Self-Defense Force members. Only a U.S. helicopter followed the kidnappers (and U.S. intervention led to Kim's release in Seoul a week later).

The Japanese government was responsible for, and required to clear, all events that happened at the kidnapping scene. If not, Japanese involvement cannot be denied. Japan's continuing to keep silent on this will bring more and more suspicion from Korea and other countries in the region.

seung chuan kim