By Reuben Staines, Park Song-wu
Staff Reporters


The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on Tuesday urged the government to press Pyongyang for the release of South Korean pastor Kim Dong-shik, who was abducted by North Korean agents in China more than four years ago.

``The Unification Ministry and other related government offices should actively try to confirm whether he is still alive, and seek the repatriation of all South Koreans who have been abducted by the North,’’ Rep. Park Kye-dong of the GNP told The Korea Times.

Park’s colleague Kim Moon-soo also said in a press release that this type of forceful abduction is a ``grave crime’’ which cannot be tolerated.

``The North Korean government must apologize and immediately release Rev. Kim,’’ he said, while requesting the Seoul government to take all steps possible to push for his release.

The opposition’s call comes after the Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors Office said it had indicted on Saturday an ethnic Korean man who had played a key role in the kidnapping of Kim in January 2000. At the time, Kim was assisting North Korean refugees in Yanji, Jilin Province.

The Unification Ministry, however, said it has insufficient evidence of Kim’s abduction to bring up the issue with the North at this stage.

``We don’t have substantial proof on this case and we can’t focus solely on it because there are numerous other abduction cases to deal with,’’ a ministry official said. ``But we could possibly try to reach some sort of package deal with the North later if an appropriate chance comes.’’

A total of 468 cases of abducted South Koreans had been reported to the government as of December this year, the official said.

The 35-year-old suspect, identified only by his family name Ryu, is charged with working for the Pyongyang government to kidnap the religious leader.

``The suspect was trained in Pyongyang,’’ a prosecutor said. ``Nearly 10 North Korean agents and other accomplices are believed to have conspired to abduct Kim.’’ Investigators think some of the 10 may be currently in South Korea, sources said.

Kim, 57, who has permanent residency in the United States but had been working with North Korean refugees in China since 1995, was placed on a list of targets by the North Korean government in 1999, sources said.

After receiving the news of Ryu’s indictment, Kim’s wife who is residing in the U.S., pleaded to the Seoul government to take urgent action at least to confirm whether he is dead or alive.

The prosecutors’ office said it is investigating the case in cooperation with officials from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). But an NIS official said, ``We are not in a position to elaborate on a case that is under an early phase of investigation.’’

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr

im@koreatimes.co.kr