Ulaanbaatar Reunion - The Moment the Yokota Family's Prayers Were Received (2014)
March 2014. Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, was enveloped in a cold air that held the remnants of winter. In that quiet city, there was a slight slackening in the long history of conflict between Japan and North Korea. The meeting between Megumi Yokota's parents, Shigeru and Sakie, and Megumi's daughter, Eun Kyung, took place.
This reunion was not a coincidence, but was supported by the changing international situation at the time: In the early 2010s, North Korea was economically trapped due to sanctions and was becoming increasingly diplomatically isolated. Japan, too, was searching for a way out of the stagnant situation with no progress on the abduction issue. Under these circumstances, North Korea's decision to allow the North to meet with the North Koreans outside of Japan was an important turning point that shook its long-standing hard-line stance for the first time.
In the past, North Korea had insisted that meetings with the North Koreans be held only within Japan, and the conditions for reunions had been virtually blocked. Meeting in a neutral location was not normally possible from the standpoints of national dignity and information management, and the change in policy itself was taken as a major diplomatic signal.
For more than 30 years, the Yokotas have been appealing in the darkness, unable to see the truth. The years of seeking support from the international community without knowing the whereabouts of Ms. Megumi were of immeasurable weight. Not many words were exchanged at the meeting, but the silence was a combination of years of pain, relief, and loss.
The gazes turned in the silence of Ulaanbaatar showed how deeply the abductions had damaged human dignity. How long the act of being deprived of one's family continues to chip away at one's heart. Even though it was a brief reunion, the shadow of this event remained deeply and surely in our hearts.
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