WORLD : N. Korea Frees Japan Seamen
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TOKYO — Communist North Korea, in the latest of a series of steps toward ending decades of Cold War isolationism, today released two Japanese seamen who had been jailed for seven years on charges of espionage.
Japan’s Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu welcomed the return of the two seamen, whose imprisonment, on what Japan said were false charges, has been a major barrier to normalization of relations between Tokyo and North Korea.
Isamu Beniko, 60, captain of the Fujisan Maru No. 18, and his first mate, Yoshio Kuriura, 59, were arrested in November, 1983, when they returned to North Korea after having transported a North Korean seeking asylum to Japan.
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