U.S. government officials have offered condolences to the family of Shigeru Yokota, father of a girl abducted by North Korea in the 1970s, after his death last week, the family said Thursday.

Shigeru, who died Friday at age 87, and his wife Sakie had long lobbied the United States for support in their efforts to secure the return of their daughter Megumi who was taken to North Korea at age 13 in 1977.

Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Stephen Biegun sent a letter to Shigeru's son Takuya, 51, saying he was "particularly moved by (Shigeru's) untiring efforts to raise international awareness of the abduction issue as one facet of North Korea's abysmal human rights record."