News-Info-Alerts

Re: Korean POW: Ministry to Intercede With Return

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: December 11, 2003

"S. Korean Ministries to Bring Back POW at Early Date

Seoul, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- The government said Wednesday it will try to bring back home "at an early date" a former South Korean prisoner of war under detention in China after fleeing North Korea. Jeon Yong-il, 72, who was taken prisoner by North Korea during the Korean War half a century ago, was arrested by Chinese authorities in October after attempting to board a Seoul-bound flight with a forged passport.

Jeon had smuggled himself into China and sought help from the South Korean Embassy in Beijing in September. The embassy checked with Seoul's Defense Ministry on his status.

Jeon could not get help from the embassy, because the Defense Ministry had said it could not find his name on the army's roster. But officials later found him listed as killed in action in the closing weeks of the war in 1953.

On Wednesday, officials said that six government ministries, led by the Defense Ministry, have formed a task force to closely coordinate for an early repatriation of Jeon from China.

China has a treaty with Pyongyang to repatriate all border trespassers from North Korea. But Seoul officials said China has promised not to send Jeon to the North because of his status as a war prisoner. The Defense Ministry has been under severe public fire for mishandling the case and even attempting to cover up its initial failure to identify Jeon's status.

According to an inter-ministry agreement Wednesday, the Defense Ministry will coordinate the overall policy on the return of Jeon and other Korean War POWs.

The Unification Ministry will handle POW issues related to North Korea, while the Foreign Ministry will negotiate with China.

The Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs will be responsible for providing family members of POWs with state subsidies, and the Office of Prime Minster is to play a role of drawing support from other public agencies.

The National Intelligence Service will also be involved in the effort but its role was not disclosed. According to official data, 1,186 South Korean prisoners of war are still alive in North Korea, a claim denied by the North. The North has said there is no South Korean POWs on its soil.

The data shows that since 1994, 32 South Korean POWs have fled the North and returned to Seoul via China.

Yonhap English News - hyungjin@yna.co.kr"