A South Korean worker has been released after more than four months of detention in North Korea.

The man identified by his surname Yoo arrived at the immigration office at Dorasan Station in the South at 7:00 p.m.

Yoo, a worker for Hyundai Asan, was detained on March 30th while working at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North. He was accused of denouncing the North Korean system and attempting to persuade a North Korean woman to defect to the South.

Yoo's release came four days after Hyundai Asan Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun visited Pyongyang to negotiate his release. Hyun arrived in the North Korean capital on Monday. She was scheduled to return to the South on Wednesday, but extended her stay twice, raising hopes for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

In a statement on May first, the North's Central Guidance Bureau for Special Zone Development said the South Korean worker was under investigation for allegedly infringing upon the North's sovereignty and violating its law.

North Korea rejected South Korea's repeated requests to free the South Korean worker during three rounds of talks held in June and July.