Abduction of fishermen

A total of 3,729 South Korean fishermen were kidnapped from their fishing boats, accounting for 89% of all abductions. Of these, 3,263 have since been repatriated by the North, while nine persons have escaped from North Korea and returned to the South by themselves. The South Korean government estimates that 457 South Korean fishermen are still detained in the North. The majority of them were captured by boats of the North Korean coastguard while they were drifting over or crossing the Northern Limit Line (NLL) due to engine failure or by mistake while operating in high seas. The North Koreans delayed or refused to repatriate them, arguing that they had entered North Korea either voluntarily or as South Korean espionage agents crossing the NLL.

Abduction of civilian aircraft

A North Korean espionage agent kidnapped Korean Air YS-11, a civilian airplane, in the air space above Daegwallyeong while it was headed to Gimpo Airport with 47 passengers and 4 crew members after departing Gangneung on 11 December 1969. As international criticism intensified, North Korea repatriated 39 passengers on 14 February 1970, but still detains 11 of them.

Adduction of military and police personnel

On 5 June 1970, the South Korean navy patrol vessel I-2 was sunk during a surprise attack by a ship of the North Korean navy in high seas near Yeonpyeong-do, and its twenty crew members were kidnapped by North Korean troops. On 28 June 1974, the South Korean coast patrol boat 863, which was policing the East Sea fishery protection zone, was also sunk during an attack by a North Korean coastguard ship. North Korea refused to repatriate two of the crew members even though their detention in North Korea was verified in video footage released by North Korea. In addition, the North is still holding eight South Korean soldiers whom they kidnapped while they were performing patrol or guard duty.

Abduction of civilians inside South Korea

A number of South Korean civilians have been kidnapped by North Korean espionage agents who infiltrated into the South. Five high-school students were kidnapped by North Korean operatives at Hongdo Beach in August 1977 and at Seonyudo Beach, Gunsan in August of the same year. One of them, a Mr. Kim, who was kidnapped at Seonyudo Beach, turned out to be the husband of Yokota Megumi, a Japanese woman previously abducted to the North, shocking people at home and abroad. Mr. Kim finally met with his mother and sister again in South Korea during a reunion event for separated families held at Geumgangsan on 29 June 2006. Another Kim, a resident of Freedom Village at Daeseong-dong in the Demilitarized Zone, was kidnapped by North Korean soldiers on 26 August 1975 while carrying grass he had just mown.

Abduction of civilians outside South Korea

The North Koreans also kidnapped a number of South Koreans overseas. A Mr. Koh, a teacher at Sudo Girls High School, was kidnapped to the North while on a trip to Oslo, Norway on 13 April 1978. A Mr. Lee, a South Korean student of MIT, was kidnapped by North Korean operatives while he was on a journey to Vienna, Austria on 20 July 1987. And, a Mr. Oh and his family were detained in North Korea during a visit there.