Six South Koreans Imprisoned in North
The South Korean presidential office disclosed that detainees comprise three native South Koreans and three North Korean defectors who previously obtained South Korean citizenship after resettlement, South Korean media reported.
Authorities have held these individuals on various accusations, including espionage, spanning from 2013 through 2016.
Three Christian missionaries—Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie, and Choi Chun-gil—account for half the detained group after North Korean security forces arrested them during 2013 and 2014.
The presidential office stated: "As inter-Korean talks and exchanges were long suspended, the suffering of our people continues and the issue needs to be urgently addressed."
Separately, the South Korean Unification Ministry announced Thursday it is working to secure the return of aging "unconverted long-term" North Korean prisoners of war on humanitarian grounds, while explicitly separating this initiative from efforts to free the six South Koreans held in the North.
Ministry officials emphasized that potential prisoner exchange negotiations involving POWs and detained nationals are not currently being explored.
The revelation highlights the prolonged diplomatic freeze between the divided peninsula nations and the mounting pressure on Seoul to resolve these protracted detention cases.
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