Present there were media persons in the DPRK, journalists of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and reporters of China, Russia and the U.S.

Ok Song Hyok, a worker of the Haeju Industry Construction Office, spoke first there.

He explained how they were abducted by the enemies after leaving Tongpho-ri in Kangryong County, South Hwanghae Province on February 5 to gather shellfish.

He recalled that they had been put to all sorts of persecution and pressured to "defect" to south Korea for more than 50 days.

Then the inhabitants answered the questions raised by reporters of the Korean Central News Agency, the Central Broadcasting Committee of Korea, Minju Joson, Thongil Sinbo and the Pyongyang Times.

Ri Un Gu, farmer of the Singwang Cooperative Farm, Haeju City, said that it takes more than 4 hours for a boat to sail to Yonphyong Island from Tongpho-ri, Kangryong County, but it took just 2 hours and 30 minutes for it to sail to the waters where it encountered the high speed boats of the south Korean puppet navy.

This was not time enough for the boat to sail to the "Northern Limit Line" until 11:30 of that day claimed by the puppet group, to say nothing of the waters off Yonphyong Island, even in case our boat went on the ebb, he noted, adding:

This clearly proves that their boat did not sail to the waters of the south side and the enemies watched the boat after forming an abduction group with several warships and a special unit and abducted it, taking advantage of the deep fog.

Refuting the assertion of the puppet group that the boat was stuck on the beach at that time, he said its engine was in normal shape until it was abducted and was on the surface of the waters more than 20 meters deep.

Pak Mun Sik, worker of the Sokchon Fishermen's Cooperative in Haeju City, testified to the fact that the group perpetrated brutal violence against the defenceless inhabitants when it was abducting the boat.

Pyon Kyong Il, graduate from Puyong Secondary School in Haeju City, said he went to the sea aboard the boat together with his mother to see its scenery on the lunar New Year. Puppet seamen clubbed him standing on the deck, forcing him to sit on his feet and savagely pressing his both arms, shoulders and head.

Choe Chun Yong, inhabitant in Sokmi-dong, Haeju City, said that the enemies detained them in three rooms of the barracks of the puppet army during their detention, all their windows thickly curtained to prevent them from looking out of them. They deployed 5-7 agents and soldiers to watch them by shift, not allowing them even to meet and speak to each other, she added. She also noted that the enemies broke into the women's room and did not hesitate to threaten them with sexual abuse, blustering: "We will make all of you naked and throw you into the sea unless you obey us."

Hyong Sun Bok, inhabitant in Sokmi-dong, Haeju City, referred to the operation conducted by the puppet group against the inhabitants to force them to "defect" to the south from the very day it abducted them.

Ri Hyang Hwa, inhabitant in Sokmi-dong, Haeju City, recalled that the puppet group conducted "a despicable operation to force herself and his husband "to defect" to the south, adding that it separately called the mother and her son and tried to create discord between kinsmen in a bid to force them to "defect" to the south at any cost.

Ri Myong Ok, inhabitant in Sokmi-dong, Haeju City, blasted the desperate moves of the enemies to shake the faith of the inhabitants to go back to the care of the DPRK.

Kim Kum Hyang, worker of the Haeju Chemical Factory, related the story about how persistently the enemies conducted the "operation" to force young inhabitants to "defect" to the south.

Ok Song Hyok declared that the four inhabitants now in the south did not "defect" to the south but they are kept in custody by the group. He demanded the group stop using them for its anti-DPRK smear campaign, keeping them in custody, and send them back to the DPRK without delay.

Ra Hye Yong, inhabitant in Sokmi-dong, Haeju City said what they keenly realized while they were kept in custody by the enemies is that they cannot live even a moment without the care of leader Kim Jong Il, the care of the benevolent socialist homeland. At dawn of February 16 they celebrated the holiday, singing songs of longing with deep emotion and having dances in the eyes of the enemies.

Ri Un Gu, farmer at Singwang Cooperative Farm in Haeju City, stressed that they clearly realized in the enemy-controlled area that they could not live even a moment without the care of Kim Jong Il and the socialist homeland is the best.

Before the press interview was over, the inhabitants sang in an excited tone the song of the immortal famous masterpiece "Where Are You, Dear General?"