[shhrubbery!]

Some harshly rebuked the government for their lack of sound negotiating strategy, killing Kim Seon-il, while Japan was able to secure the release of their hostages.

I read here on FR that the REAL story on those Japanese "hostages" was that they weren't hostages at all, but terrorist sympathizers.

Hardly any media coverage of that angle of the story here, though. Did it turn out to be true?

[Wolfstar]

Yeah, it was true. Their own government arrested some of them when they got back to Japan.