Survivors of the 1959–1984 repatriation program target a sunken North Korean spy ship currently held in Yokohama to collect compensation ordered by a Tokyo court.

TOKYO — Victims of a historic repatriation program who fled North Korea have filed a legal application to seize a North Korean spy ship currently preserved in Japan, aiming to enforce a court-ordered compensation judgment against Pyongyang.

According to reports from major Japanese dailies including the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun, four plaintiffs submitted the seizure application to the Yokohama District Court on August 31. They are targeting the North Korean spy vessel and associated artifacts currently on display at the Japan Coast Guard Museum in Yokohama.

The vessel in question is a North Korean spy ship that sank in December 2001 following a fierce gun battle with Japan Coast Guard patrol boats off Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Measuring approximately 29 meters in length and weighing 44 tons, the ship was salvaged from the seabed the following year.

The four plaintiffs behind the seizure application are ethnic Koreans who originally migrated from Japan to North Korea under the state-sponsored repatriation program. Running from 1959 to 1984, the repatriation campaign was jointly promoted by the Japanese and North Korean Red Cross societies. Pyongyang heavily advertised North Korea as a "paradise on earth," inducing approximately 93,000 people to move across the Sea of Japan.

Background Note: The 1959–1984 repatriation program sent roughly 93,000 ethnic Koreans from Japan to North Korea under state propaganda promising a "paradise on earth." Many later faced severe human rights violations and restrictions.
Upon arrival, however, many returnees faced a harsh reality characterized by severe human rights abuses, extreme living hardships, and strict restrictions on travel and emigration. The plaintiffs are among those who managed to escape North Korea between 2001 and 2003. They subsequently filed a landmark damages lawsuit against the North Korean government for the severe violations of their human rights.

In January, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the North Korean government to pay 22 million yen to each of the four individuals, totaling 88 million yen (approximately 750 million Korean won).

Because the spy ship is recognized as property belonging to the North Korean state, the plaintiffs argue that the Japanese government retains an obligation to return it to Pyongyang. Their legal strategy involves seizing North Korea's right of claim for the return of the asset against the Japanese government, and subsequently auctioning that right to secure their compensation payouts.

Eiko Kawasaki, who defected to Japan in 2003 leaving 12 family members behind in North Korea, expressed the emotional weight of the struggle: "It is unthinkable to die without ever seeing them again. If this asset is successfully monetized, I want to use the funds for activities aimed at reuniting with my family."

Despite the plaintiffs' determination, significant legal and practical hurdles remain. The Japan Coast Guard maintains that it holds legal ownership of the vessel and is properly managing it as a security exhibit. Furthermore, even if the court accepts the plaintiffs' arguments, legal experts note that it remains uncertain whether a buyer will emerge during an auction or if actual monetization will be feasible.