North Korea’s Abduction Project

In the decades following the Korean War, North Korea initiated a top-secret project to kidnap ordinary people from Japan, reeducate them, and turn them into international spies for the regime. In the late 1970s, dozens of Japanese disappeared without a trace from beaches, schools and sidewalks.

In this episode, we feature Robert Boynton, author of the fascinating new book "The Invitation-Only Zone: The True Story of North Korea's Abduction Project." Boynton spent years investigating the abduction project, interviewing the few abductees who were able to return to their homeland, and painting a picture of their lives in the North, where many were held prisoner for decades.