Almost five-hundred South Koreans have been kidnapped by and detained in North Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, with the fates of some one-hundred of them confirmed.

The National Intelligence Service on Monday announced the data at the request of main opposition lawmaker Song Young-sun.

An intelligence official said Seoul has also confirmed the identities of some one-thousand-700 among the estimated 50-thousand South Korean prisoners of war who were captured at the time of the war.

Five-hundred-48 are believed to be alive and eight-hundred-85 dead. The fates of some three-hundred remain unknown.

The official also said some 83-thousand North Koreans have defected to South Korea since 1948, when the South Korean government was founded.

Some 150-thousand political prisoners are also believed to be confined in six concentration camps in North Korea.