The nine members of the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction ( the predecessor of the Japanese Red Army ) who hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 351 are known to have received political asylum in Pyongyang in 1970 ; of those , two were later arrested by Japanese police in Thailand , two died in North Korea , and five are still believed to reside in Pyongyang . Four were confirmed to be alive in 2004 when they were interviewed and photographed by Kyodo News . North Korea is also believed to have kidnapped between 70 and 80 Japanese citizens between 1977 and 1983 in order to teach the Japanese language to North Korean intelligence operatives ; however , the government of North Korea officially admits to only 16 such kidnappings
Japan Airlines Flight 351
Japan Airlines Flight 351
Japanese people in North Korea