Mother of South Korean Student who was Kidnapped in 1977 Awaits News of her Son in her Deathbed.

A 93 years old South Korean woman whose son was kidnapped by North Koreans nearly 50 years ago is pleading to see her son one last time, according to the leader of a group representing people whose family members were abducted by North Korea.

Kim Tae-Ok, whose son Lee Min-Gyo was taken in 1977, has been bedridden for four months, according to Choi Seong-Ryong, the head of the Association of the Families of Those Abducted by North Korea. Choi told the local Yonhap News Agency that the hope of seeing her son again is the only reason she is hanging on.

“Kim Tae-Ok is so sick right now that she could pass away any day now. I plead to President Lee Jae Myung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to fulfill the old mother’s wish to at least see her son, even if he cannot come back,” Choi said.

Kim and 92 years old Kim Sun-Rye are the only surviving parents of five high school students abducted by the North in 1977 and 1978. Lee Min-Gyo was in his second year of high school when he was taken with his friend Choi Seung-Min on October 12, 1978.

In 2006, the National Intelligence Service said the students, who would be in their mid-60s if alive, were living in North Korea. Though the North refused to confirm their survival, local Weekly Chosun reported in 2011 that individuals matching their description were living in Pyongyang at the time.

The South Korean government erected monuments in South Jeolla Province last year, wishing for their safe return. In the ceremony commemorating the monuments, Kim Tae-Ok made a tearful plea to US ambassador Julie Turner, then US special envoy to North Korean Human Rights Issues for a chance to see her son before she dies.

Choi Seong-Ryong said Kim gave him 100,000 won ($68) towards his group’s project to fly leaflets containing information about the abducted students to North Korea. These also included information about Megumi Yokota from Japan, who was kidnapped in 1977. The leaflet campaign has been a topic of dispute here, with allegations that it has raised tension between the Koreas.

Choi’s group announced in July that it is suspending the leaflet campaign as of now, entrusting the task of confirming the status of the kidnapped individuals to the government.

Team Maverick