Kidnapping Documentary

[Anchor Lead]

A documentary film on the kidnapping of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, by North Korean agents will soon be released in South Korea. The film even includes the actual voice of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.

[Pkg]

In 1978 South Korean film director Shin Sang-ok and his actress wife Choi Eun-hee were kidnapped in Hong Kong and taken to North Korea.

[Soundbite] Choi Eun-hee(Actress) : "When I first saw him, he asked for a handshake."

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il admitted to planning their abduction when he met the two South Koreans.

[Soundbite] "Is there a way to bring him to North Korea on his own willingly? What do we need to lure director Shin?"

Kim's voice, secretly recorded on a mini tape recorder hidden inside Choi's purse, was released to the world for the first time in a documentary film by a British director.

[Soundbite] Choi Eun-hee(Actress) : "I doubted anyone would accept the truth even if we escaped to the free world and told our story. So I decided to record this."

Director Shin made 17 films at the instruction of Kim Jong-il, a notorious film buff, while being held captive in North Korea.

[Soundbite] "I want to enter the West with film. So we're going to pour in all the money into it."

However, Kim's constant surveillance and insistence on North Korean ideology illustrated his tyrrany.

[Soundbite] "Even when you meet Japanese people, tell them that there was no democracy in South Korea and that you came here to be ensured of real freedom, the freedom of creation."

The 98-minute documentary also includes testimonies from the CIA and Hong Kong investigators. It was first shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is to be released in South Korea next month.