The Defense Ministry is attempting to refocus attention on the plight of South Korean soldiers captured during the Korean War and their children currently living in the communist North.

In a report released Thursday, the ministry said it would present the issue to international organizations and join hands with local civic groups to examine the current state of the POWs and their children and accordingly draw up support measures.

The report suggests that the government is concerned about providing humanitarian assistance to the POWs' families, as the children of the POWs increasingly attempt to seek asylum in the South.

According to the report, which was partly based on testimony gathered from Northern defectors and repatriated captives, as of September, more than five hundred South Korean POWs are presumed to be living in the Stalinist state.