North Korea has refused to accept a telegram South Korea sent to demand the release and repatriation of two South Korean citizens arrested by the North.
 
Seoul's Unification Ministry said Friday that it tried to send the telegram addressed to the North's ruling Workers' Party's Unified Front Department but Pyongyang refused to receive it. 

The South Korean government said that, in the telegram, it expressed regret over North Korea's detainment of South Korean citizens and the accusation that the men are South Korean spies.
 
The telegram also sought to urge the repatriation of a South Korean missionary, Kim Jung-wook, who has been detained in the North since October 2013.