President's Office “6 Nationals Detained in North Korea... Efforts to Resume Inter-Korean Dialogue as Soon as Possible”

Regarding the release of citizens detained in North Korea on the 4th, the President's Office stated that “we will resolve it through efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue as soon as possible based on public consensus.”

In a press release on the day, the President's Office emphasized that “it is currently believed that 6 of our citizens (including 3 North Korean defectors) have been detained on charges of espionage from 2013 to 2016,” and that “in a situation where dialogue and exchange between North and South Korea have been suspended for a long period of time, the suffering of the people due to division continues, and there is an urgent need to resolve the issue.”

This is the main point of the President's office's response to a question raised at a foreign press conference the day before. At a foreign press conference held at the Cheongwadae State Guest House the day before on the occasion of the first year of emergency martial law, an NK News reporter asked President Lee Jae-myung, “Although American and Japanese nationals detained by the North have been released, about 10 Korean citizens are still being held,” and “what efforts will be made to achieve release?”

President Lee said, “This is the first story I've heard,” and asked the Chief of National Security Satellite Security, “Is it true that the Korean people are being held (by the North)?” Director Lee said, “There are cases where I can't get out or I'm stuck in an unknown situation,” and “I need to figure out the point of view.”

In response, President Lee said, “There is a lack of individual information because it happened a long time ago,” and “I will investigate the situation and make a decision.” The reporter who asked the question also explained the circumstances of the detention, saying, “It is a matter widely known as reported by North Korean public media.”

According to the President's Office, of the 6 people currently detained in North Korea, 3 Koreans are missionaries Kim Jong-wook, Kim Guk-gi, and Choi Chun-gil, who have been held since 2013 to 2014. The identities of the three North Korean defectors were not disclosed due to the safety of the North Korean families.

The government has continued to publicly demand their release, but North Korea is refusing to discuss them by claiming that they are felons. The United Nations has also confirmed their internment several times. The UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) also called for the release of detained missionaries on March 13 (local time), saying that free selection amounts to arbitrary detention.