SEOUL – South Korea’s presidential office confirmed Thursday six of its citizens have been captive in North Korea for years, after President Lee Jae Myung appeared unaware of their plight during a briefing with foreign media.
Asked Wednesday about South Koreans detained in the North, Lee replied: “It’s my first time ever hearing about this.”
Lee’s office later followed up with a statement saying that six nationals — including Christian missionaries and North Korean defectors — have been held since their arrests “between 2013 and 2016 on charges of espionage, among others”.
Four of them have been named by Pyongyang, which has accused them of espionage — a charge carrying severe penalties, including death, in the authoritarian country.
“In the current situation, where inter-Korean dialogue and exchanges have been suspended for an extended period, the suffering of our people caused by division continues,” it said.
“The government will work to address the matter through efforts to swiftly resume inter-Korean dialogue.”
At Wednesday’s briefing, Lee turned to his national security adviser Wi Sung-lac for help answering the question.
Wi said there had been cases of South Koreans unable to return after entering the North and “other unknown cases”, but could not confirm the timing of their arrests.
Lee’s apparent lack of awareness made headlines in local media, with one headline in the conservative Chosun Ilbo calling him “clueless”.
“It was a symbolic scene that illustrates the status of the issue of South Korean detainees in North Korea,” the daily said.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations, said Thursday it last raised the issue with Pyongyang in 2018.
