Japanese police guard the headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of the Korean Residents in Japan in Tokyo in February 2016 during protests against North Korea. Now, four women and one man who spent decades in North Korea before finally escaping to Japan are pursuing legal action against the North Korea government in a Japanese court, seeking damages for the lies they were told and mistreatment they suffered. Sakakibara was taken to North Korea at the age of 11 by her parents, but later escaped back to Japan, and is part of a group suing the North Korean government for luring them there on false pretenses. Both women were lured to North Korea from Japan in 1961 but later escaped back to Japan, and are now suing the North Korean government for luring them there on false pretenses. In May 1961, the family boarded a Soviet passenger vessel bound for the North Korean port of Chongjin.

Source: Washington Post September 30, 2018 10:00 UTC