Kwon Young-se Meets Families of North Korean Detainees, Vows to Use All Means for Their Release

First Meeting with Minister of Unification
Meeting with Families of 2 out of 6 North Korean Detainees

Minister Kwon Young-se meets with families of detainees in North Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has promised the families of South Korean nationals detained in North Korea that "the government will mobilize all possible means and make every effort" to secure their release.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Minister Kwon met with the families of two detained nationals at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "We must protect our citizens and will do our best to bring them to their desired location."

This is the first time a Unification Minister has met with the families of detainees held in North Korea.

Minister Kwon also expressed concern, saying, "Inter-Korean relations are almost at their worst, so I expect difficulties. Previous administrations, regardless of political orientation, have made efforts, but since those attempts were unsuccessful, it will not be easy to resolve the situation under the current difficult circumstances."

At the meeting, Jeong Sam, the brother of missionary Kim Jeong-wook who was arrested in October 2013 for illegally entering North Korea, and the family of another detainee attended.

Minister Kwon comforted the families, saying, "I regret that we are meeting late when we should have met earlier. Although the detainee issue has lasted nearly 10 years, it is very unfortunate that it has not yet been resolved." He also shared an anecdote about strongly requesting repatriation cooperation from China, a country with good communication with North Korea, during his tenure as ambassador to China.

Meanwhile, a total of six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea since 2013. Three missionaries?Kim Jeong-wook, Kim Guk-gi, and Choi Chun-gil?were arrested by North Korean authorities while operating shelters for defectors or conducting missionary activities in border areas between North Korea and China, including Dandong, China. They are reportedly serving indefinite labor reform sentences, but their current status or whereabouts remain unknown.

The other three detainees are South Korean nationals who are former defectors: Ko Hyun-cheol, Kim Won-ho, and Ham Jin-woo. They are also reported to have been captured by North Korea while supporting defectors in China. However, the Ministry of Unification has stated that it cannot disclose details about the detainees' identities for privacy protection reasons.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.