The presidential office on Thursday confirmed that six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea and vowed to make efforts to secure the release of them by swiftly resuming talks with Pyongyang.
The six citizens, including three North Koreans who had defected to South Korea, have been held in the North on charges of espionage and others since between 2013 and 2016.
They include three missionaries arrested by the North Korean authorities from 2013 and 2014, namely Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil. The presidential office did not disclose the identities of the three North Korean defectors to protect the safety of their families in the North.
"As inter-Korean talks and exchanges were long suspended, the suffering of our people continues and the issue needs to be urgently addressed," the presidential office said in a statement.
The confirmation came after President Lee Jae Myung was asked during a press conference the previous day whether he was seeking efforts to bring back the detained South Koreans.
Lee said his office will look into the matter, noting that he had never heard of the cases and that he lacks information on individual cases.
The unification ministry has called for the immediate and unconditional release of the missionaries, most recently in March following the United Nations' adoption of a report demanding their release. (Yonhap)
