Seoul (CNN) -- Oh Kil-nam refuses to keep a single photo of his family in his home. He says it's just too painful.
For more than 25 years, Oh has lived with the guilt of knowing his wife and two daughters are being held against their will in North Korea because of a choice he made.
"I made such a foolish decision," Oh says, "which has caused my family to suffer such hardship in the hands of an outrageous criminal organization. It doesn't help even if I repent, my heart is torn with sorrow."
Oh, a native of South Korea, moved his family to Pyongyang in 1985 despite his wife's reservations on the promise of a good job and free medical treatment for his wife's hepatitis, but when they arrived he realized he had been tricked.