A DNA sample taken from unidentified remains found in Yamagata Prefecture appear to match that of a woman who vanished at age 20 some 20 years ago, casting doubt on allegations that she had been abducted to North Korea.
Miho Yamamoto of the city of Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, disappeared on June 4, 1984, after telling her family she was going to the library.
Her handbag was found on a beach in the city of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, four days later, and her family had been saying she may have been abducted by North Korean agents.
But police said Friday that the DNA of an unidentified body found in Yamagata Prefecture soon after Yamamoto's disappearance matched that of her family, including her twin sister, Misa Morimoto.