Unification Minister Hyun In-taek has urged North Korea to immediately free a South Korean worker detained at the South-North jointly run Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

In a forum in Seoul on Thursday, the minister said that although the two Koreas have made various agreements to promote and guarantee bilateral cooperation, many problems have recently emerged between the two nations.

Accordingly, the minister vowed efforts to establish systems and regulations to guarantee healthy and stable development of inter-Korean ties, adding that the Seoul government will try to set up first an arbitration committee for inter-Korean companies and a joint committee on cross-border trips and stays.