Groups advocating for human rights in North Korea have sent a letter to President Yoon Suk Yeol urging the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to discuss abductees, detainees and prisoners of war(POWs) in the North during a summit later this month.

In the letter, 12 groups, including the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, noted that Pyongyang has detained at least six South Koreans in the past ten years.

They urged the leaders to exert diplomatic efforts to resolve POW, abductee and detainee issues, including the repatriation of survivors and the remains of the deceased as well as an investigation into liability.

The groups also called for the inclusion of the issues in a joint statement issued by the three leaders following the summit.

President Yoon is set to hold three-way talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David on August 18.

[Photo : YONHAP News]