North Korea abductee Soga laments mother's absence

Hitomi Soga speaks at a press conference in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Monday (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Hitomi Soga, 63, abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s, on Monday expressed her current state of mind, saying, "It's hard not being able to see my precious mother even once."

At the press conference where she was speaking in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on the 20th anniversary of her return to Japan, she added, "When my mother returns to Sado, I want to talk with her without end."