Seoul, Dec 4 The South Korean unification ministry said on Thursday that it is seeking to repatriate elderly "unconverted long-term" North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) but not considering linking the issue with efforts to win the release of six South Koreans detained in the North.
Citing Seoul's national security adviser, NK News, a US news outlet centered on North Korea, reported that South Korea is willing to discuss the repatriation of unconverted, long-term North Korean POWs in an effort to bring home South Korean nationals detained in the North.
The report came after during a press conference with foreign media Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he had never heard of South Korean detainees in North Korea and lacks information on individual cases, when asked about the government's plan to secure their release.
The unification ministry dismissed the report Thursday, saying that the government is not currently considering measures to swap such North Korean POWs with South Koreans detained in the North.
"From the humanitarian grounds, the government will seek to repatriate unconverted long-term North Korean POWs. But it is not currently considering linking the issue to efforts to win the release of our nationals detained in the North," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Ahn Hak-sop, a 95-year-old who once served as a North Korean soldier, has called on the government to repatriate him to North Korea via China or Russia.
He is one of six elderly former North Korean soldiers and spies who have yet to renounce their communist beliefs linked to North Korea, despite having spent decades in prison in the South.
Currently, three South Korean missionaries -- Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil -- have been detained in North Korea for more than a decade on anti-state charges. Three former North Korean defectors, who had obtained South Korean citizenship, were held captive in 2016.
North Korea has not confirmed their whereabouts or fates, Yonhap news agency reported.
The unification ministry said it recognizes the "urgent" need to resolve the detainee issue and is making efforts to address it through dialogue with North Korea.
"The government will make multifaceted efforts to secure the release of South Korean nationals detained in the North," it said.
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