Good News 2025

Hijacking of Japanese Ride 351

In 1970, the passenger plane Japanese Ride 351 is hijacked by members of Japan's Red Army Faction. The hijackers demand to be flown to Pyongyang, North Korea, and the crew quickly realizes neither pilots nor controller knowledge can satisfy this. The hijackers threaten with a bomb vest, and Captain Takehiro Kubo and his co-pilot lie about fuel to stall them.

Refuel stop at Itazuke

The hijackers allow the plane to land at Itazuke to refuel and to obtain a map. The crew tries to maintain control as authorities hesitate to act for fear of endangering hostages. A Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jet is positioned to stall for time.

Plane departs toward Pyongyang

After the refuel and map acquisition, the hijackers insist on continuing toward Pyongyang with 106 hostages aboard. The crew complies as political pressures mount, and the plane becomes a hostage-laden vehicle toward North Korea.

KCIA intervenes with plan

In Seoul, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency learns of the hijacking. Director Park Sang-hyeon assigns Nobody, an undocumented NK defector, to rescue the hostages to gain international goodwill and leverage the Japanese government.

Nobody recruits Seo Go-myung

Nobody recruits Lt. Seo Go-myung of the ROK Air Force to play a North Korean air traffic controller and mislead the hijackers into thinking they are being guided toward Pyongyang. Seo agrees to participate to secure the hostages' release.

The control scheme takes shape

Seo and a North Korean Air Force counterpart attempt to contact the hijacked plane via emergency frequencies. Seo succeeds in switching the plane from the hijackers’ frequency to the South Korean frequency, enabling a change of course toward Seoul.

Gimpo landing and disguise as Pyongyang

The plane lands at Gimpo International Airport, where Nobody has arranged for the facility to resemble Pyongyang's airport. Propaganda actors, soldiers, and dancers are staged to greet the passengers, in an audacious ruse to secure the hijackers' compliance.

Hijackers spot the ruse

The high-strung hijackers quickly notice oddities: an American airliner nearby, an African-American officer eating at a window, and Louis Armstrong music on the radio. Realizing the deception, they become suspicious and the situation devolves back into a stand-off.

Night negotiation and threat

That night, Seo is sent aboard to hear the hijackers’ demands. One hijacker stabs the lead to prove resolve, and the group threatens to detonate if no flight resumes to Pyongyang by noon the next day.

Public pressure and the false news ploy

Nobody sabotages the crisis with strategic misinformation, planting a false report that a hostage is of Korean descent to spark public outcry. The move pressures the government to secure presidential approval before the deadline, attempting to avoid blame.

Hostage swap proposed

As time runs out, Nobody convinces Deputy Minister Shinichi Ishida to offer himself as a hostage in exchange for the passengers’ freedom. The hijackers accept, and a hostage swap is arranged, allowing the plane to depart for Pyongyang.

Departure to North Korea

The Japanese Ride 351 takes off bound for North Korea after the swap. The authorities celebrate the safe return of the minister and crew, yet the hostage crisis ends with a staged success rather than genuine rescue.

Revelation of the ruse

Nobody later reveals that the hijackers’ guns and explosives were fake and that they never intended to harm the hostages. The Red Army Faction used the crisis to manipulate both Japanese and Korean authorities for publicity and leverage.

Political cover-up in South Korea

South Korea aims to conceal its level of involvement in the crisis, presenting the Gimpo landing as a mistaken misdirection rather than an orchestrated operation. The operation's true nature remains a public secret.