This photo, taken June 28, 2023, shows photos of South Koreans abducted and detained by North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Civic groups on North Korea’s human rights said Wednesday they have sent an open letter to President Yoon Suk Yeol calling for discussing the issue of abductees and detainees in the North during his upcoming summit with the leaders of the United States and Japan at Camp David.
The letter called for the leaders to discuss the issues of South Korean prisoners of the 1950-53 Korean War, abductees, including Japanese nationals, and detainees in North Korea as part of the summit agenda and include them in a joint summit statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden will host Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David, a presidential retreat on the outskirts of Washington, on Aug. 18.
The advocacy groups urged Yoon to lead diplomatic efforts to resolve those issues, secure their immediate return and promote accountability, including the repatriation of the remains of deceased people in the North, the letter read.
Since 2013, six South Koreans, including three pastors, have been detained in North Korea on charges of committing what the North called anti-North Korea crimes.
Of them, three South Korean pastors — Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil — were sentenced to hard labor for life on charges of spying for South Korea’s intelligence agency.
(Yonhap)
