A bipartisan group of 20 American lawmakers from the U.S. state of Illinois have called on North Korea to come clean on the fate of a Korean-American pastor kidnapped by North Korean agents in China five years ago.

In a letter to North Korea's chief representative to the U.N. Park Kil-yeon, the lawmakers said they would not support the removal of North Korea from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism until Pyongyang fully explains the fate of Reverend Kim Dong-shik to his family.

The lawmakers have expressed great interest in resolving the matter, calling it a major humanitarian issue and pointing out that the family of Reverend Kim are citizens of Illinois.