On September 17, 2002, then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited North Korea to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.[5] To facilitate normalization of relations with Japan, Kim admitted North Korea had abducted 13 Japanese citizens and issued an oral apology.[15] He attributed the abductions to "some people who wanted to show their heroism and adventurism", and avoided taking the blame. During the 2002 meeting, North Korea also provided death certificates for eight people who the North claimed were dead, but admitted in 2004 that these certificates were hastily drafted shortly before.[16] For several reasons, the Japanese government and NGOs question that those eight people are dead.[5][17]