ICC rejects call for probe of North Korea leader over abduction

April 7, 2018

Tokyo- The International Criminal Court has rejected a petition for an investigation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and others on charges of committing crimes against humanity through the suspected abduction of Japanese nationals, it was learned Saturday.

The petition was submitted in January this year chiefly by family members of Japanese nationals suspected to have been abducted to North Korea.

A lawyer for the families was informed of the ICC decision on Wednesday.

According to the Investigation Committee on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, a private-sector organization, the ICC judged that it has no jurisdiction over the suspected abduction cases, which occurred before Japan joined the ICC, based in The Hague, the Netherland, in 2007. Jiji Press