The daughter of a South Korean fisherman kidnapped in 1987 by a North Korean patrol ship has made a plea to the North's leader Kim Jong-il for her father's return.

Choi Woo-young on Wednesday had a letter posted on a Seoul daily, saying she believes Kim, known as a good son himself, will understand her plea.

She also took a shot at Seoul's efforts for her father's rescue by citing Pyongyang's commitment to the protection and repatriation of its spies in the South.

Since June 2000, Choi has chaired a group in South Korea of relatives of North Korean abductees after hearing in 1999 that her father, Choi Jong-seok, was sent to a concentration camp.