Anchor: With the return of the six South Korean men from North Korea on Friday, attention is drawn to how many more South Koreans are detained in the North and whether they will be able to come home. Kwon Chae-ryung reports.

Report: North Korea's Red Cross said in June that there are many South Koreans who illegally entered North Korea, which suggests there could be more South Korean citizens still detained in the North. 

North Korea aid groups also say there have been reports of South Koreans gone missing near the Tumen River on the North Korea-China border, which is one of the major escape routes for North Korean escapees.

However, the Unification Ministry says it does not have data on the exact number of South Koreans detained in North Korea.

Other than those unaccounted for, it's estimated that some one-thousand war prisoners and abductees taken to North Korea during and after the Korean War are still alive. 

The South Korean government says they should be repatriated on a voluntary basis, but North Korea has not sent back any of them, saying they are voluntary defectors.

Human rights groups and families of war prisoners and abductees say the government must engage in a more active negotiation with North Korea to bring them home.
Kwon Chae-ryung, KBS World Radio News.