The government has urged North Korea to release South Korean missionary Kim Jeong-wuk , currently detained by the communist regime.

The unification ministry in Seoul said Friday that South Korea's Red Cross has sent a message urging the North to repatriate Kim on humanitarian grounds, adding his family is anxiously waiting for him to return home as soon as possible.

North Korea received the message after previously rejecting messages on the matter.

Kim was arrested by North Korean authorities in October last year. The missionary was charged with illegally sneaking into the communist country.