2002: North Korean-Japan kidnapped Japanese civilians

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il acknowledges that North Korean agents kidnapped Japanese civilians in order to assume their identities and apologizes for the deaths of eight of the victims

To: 
Japan
From: 
North Korea
Year of Apology: 
2002
Footnote: 
French, Howard. “Plot Confirmed, Japan Feels No Less Pain.” New York Times. September 28, 2002.