The government has urged North Korea to immediately and unconditionally release South Korean missionary Choi Chun-gil as Tuesday marked the tenth anniversary of his detention. 

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, the unification ministry said North Korea’s practice of wrongfully and arbitrarily detaining missionaries is “a blatant attempt to oppress freedom of religion or belief and silence the voice of the international community calling for improvement of human rights for the North Korean people.”

Choi was arrested by the North Korean authorities in December 2014 while carrying out missionary and relief work for North Korean escapees based in Dandong, China. 

In June 2015, Choi was sentenced to lifelong “reform through labor” and since then his whereabouts and whether he is dead or alive have not been confirmed. 

The ministry said the South Korean government strongly urges the North to immediately and unconditionally release all South Korean nationals who are illegally detained.

Other than Choi, five South Koreans are detained in the reclusive state: two missionaries and three North Korean defectors with South Korean citizenship.