Seoul has urged Pyongyang to set free a South Korean missionary following North Korea’s sudden release of American citizen Jeffrey Edward Fowle.
 
Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said in a regular news briefing on Wednesday that South Korea, along with the international community, has repeatedly called on Pyongyang to release and repatriate its Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook.
 
Kim was arrested by North Korean authorities in October last year. He was sentenced in May to hard labor for life on charges of spying and anti-state crimes.
 
The South Korean government has repeated calls for Kim’s swift release through the Red Cross, but the North has not given any response on the matter.