SEOUL: South Korea yesterday urged North Korea to identify a South Korean citizen it said it had arrested for espionage, as a newspaper report suggested the detained man was a missionary.
Pyongyang announced last week that it had arrested a South Korean spy engaged in “plot-breeding activities.” The South’s National Intelligence Service rejected the claim as groundless, and the Unification Ministry yesterday challenged the North to provide information to support the spying charge.
“Since the North has said it is holding a South Korean in custody, we want his identity to be disclosed,” ministry spokesman Kim Eui-Do told reporters.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the man was a missionary, who may have entered North Korea with a fake passport after he was told by a contact that he could meet churchgoers there.
AFP
