Presidential office addresses detention of six South Koreans held by North Korea
Published: 04 Dec. 2025, 13:20
Updated: 04 Dec. 2025, 18:48
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a foreign press briefing at the Blue House guesthouse on Dec. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/04/daec7e66-0ad6-462f-b22f-1376a178e195.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a foreign press briefing at the Blue House guesthouse on Dec. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The presidential office said Thursday that it will work to resolve the issue of six South Korean nationals detained in North Korea “through the prompt resumption of inter-Korean dialogue, grounded in a national consensus.”
"Six of our citizens — including three North Korean defectors — have been confirmed as detained by North Korea between 2013 and 2016 on charges including espionage," the presidential office said in a statement released Thursday. "The pain caused by national division continues to affect the people, and the issue remains urgent amid a prolonged halt in inter-Korean dialogue and exchanges."
The comment was issued in response to a question raised during a foreign press briefing held Wednesday at the Blue House guesthouse to mark the first anniversary of the Dec. 3, 2024 martial law crisis.
At the briefing, a reporter from NK News asked President Lee Jae Myung about efforts to secure the release of detained South Korean citizens, noting that detainees with American and Japanese nationalities had been released, while more than 10 South Koreans remained in custody.
Lee responded, “This is the first I’m hearing of it,” and turned to National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac to ask whether South Korean citizens were currently being held in the North.
“There are cases where people entered and didn’t return or were detained in situations that weren’t made public,” said Wi in response. “We’ll need to determine the exact timeline.”
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a foreign press briefing at the Blue House guesthouse on Dec. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/04/6d33ce5f-8e5b-4fa1-a107-9c214bf16f55.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a foreign press briefing at the Blue House guesthouse on Dec. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
“It appears this happened quite some time ago, so we lack detailed information on the individuals involved,” Lee said. “We will look into the situation and assess it.”
The NK News reporter noted that the detentions had been widely reported in North Korean state media and went on to describe how they occurred.
Six South Korean nationals are currently being unlawfully held in the North, according to the presidential office. Between 2013 and 2017, North Korea detained three South Korean missionaries — Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-gi and Choi Chun-gil — along with three North Korean defectors who had obtained South Korean citizenship, citing charges including espionage.
The South Korean government has repeatedly called for their release, but the North continues to label them as serious criminals and has refused to engage in discussions.
The United Nations has also acknowledged the detentions multiple times. On March 13, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that the continued detention of the missionaries amounted to arbitrary imprisonment and called for their release.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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