The government has urged North Korea to swiftly release and repatriate a South Korean citizen being detained by the North.
 
In a statement issued by a Unification Ministry spokesman, the government on Monday expressed deep regret over the North detainment of the man, identified as Joo Won-moon, without giving an explanation to the South Korean government or the man’s family.
 
The government urged the North to promptly set Joo free and allow him to return home, along with three other South Korean detainees.
 
On Saturday, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said that Joo was detained after illegally entering the North by crossing the Amnok River from Dandong, China on April 22.