Each called for justice under international law and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of a South Korean man abducted by North Korean forces during the Korean War, and Ruby Chen, father of an Israeli soldier taken by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, spoke in the Security Council.

Together they called for resolution 2474 to be upheld, which affirms the right of families to know the fate of missing relatives in armed conflict.

75-year-long wait

“For 75 years, I’ve been waiting for my father to come back,” said Ms. Lee, who was just 18 months old when her father, prosecutor Jong-Ryong Lee, was forcibly taken to North Korea.

“We still do not know where he is, whether he is alive or dead. This is the first and the largest case of enforced disappearance, and it remains unresolved.”

This is an ongoing crime
– Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of Jong Ryong Lee

Representing the Korean War Abductees Family Union, she described decades of effort to document the abductions and press for answers, efforts often met with silence from Pyongyang.  

An ongoing crime

“In spite of all the clear evidence including the living witnesses like us, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – as North Korea is formally known) has never admitted their abduction crime. This is an ongoing crime, the first and the largest case of enforced disappearance,” Ms. Lee said.

She urged the international community to hold North Korea accountable, including by referring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to support the repatriation or identification of the remains of the nearly 100,000 others missing.

“This is an ongoing crime,” she said. “If this case was properly resolved…subsequent kidnapping crimes in Japan, Thailand, Romania – could have been prevented.”

Not knowing

Speaking next, Ruby Chen spoke of the pain of not knowing the fate of his son, Itay Chen – a joint US-German-Israeli national – after being captured by Hamas.

The 19-year-old soldier was stationed near the Gaza border when he and his tank crew were attacked and taken on 7 October 2023.

For 587 days, we have waited
– Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen

“For 587 days, we have waited,” Mr. Chen said.

“In March, the Israeli military told us Itay likely did not survive. But Hamas refuses to confirm and refuses to return him – even in death.”

He described the refusal to acknowledge or release the bodies of deceased hostages as a form of “slow psychological torture,” not only for his family but for dozens of others.

Families deserve closure

“What kind of human beings take deceased people and use them as negotiation chips,” he said, “Who denies the deceased the last basic human dignity that they deserve?”

Mr. Chen called for the appointment of a dedicated UN special representative or envoy for hostage affairs and address the broad range violations and harms associated with hostage taking.

“There must be consequences,” Chen said. “This isn’t just a political issue – it’s a humanitarian one. Families deserve closure. Hostage-taking must become a liability, not a strategic asset.”

A wide view of the Security Council meeting.

Resolution 2474

The testimonies were delivered during a Security Council session dedicated to missing persons in armed conflict.

Resolution 2474, adopted unanimously in 2019, obliges all parties in conflict to take all appropriate measures to account for the missing, enable the return of their remains, and to provide families with information on their loved ones’ fate.

Also speaking in the Council, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned that the crisis of missing persons continues to deepen in conflicts worldwide. 

In Ukraine, large numbers of civilians – including children – remain unaccounted for in areas under Russian occupation. In Myanmar, disappearances have surged since the 2021 military coup, amid a lack of due process.

In Syria, the missing persons crisis has become a defining feature of the conflict, Mr. Khiari said, noting also that questions remain over the fate of those missing from the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the enduring impacts on families and communities in Cyprus.

Let us move on

Both speakers underscored the need for the Security Council deliver on the resolution’s promise.

“Time is running short,” Ms. Lee told ambassadors. “Most siblings and spouses of the abductees have already passed away. We, the children, are growing old. There is not much time left.”

Mr. Chen echoed her plea: “I request your support to enable families of this tragic fate, such as mine, have closure and the ability to move on to the next sad chapter in life.”