South Korean lawmaker seeks return of POWs held in North
An opposition lawmaker said Wednesday [10 November] she will seek legislation aimed at the repatriation of South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) from North Korea.
Representative Jun Yeo-ok of the main opposition Grand National Party will submit a bill to restore the honour of South Korean POWs from the 1950-53 Korean War to the National Assembly on Thursday.
The bill will call for the government to determine the whereabouts of the POWs, seek to return them to their loved ones and provide them with financial support, according to the TV journalist-turned politician. On Sunday, Jun argued that up to 538 South Korean POWs from the Korean War are still living in North Korea and that 1,365 South Korean POWs remain unaccounted for, citing statistics from the ministries of national unification, defence and other government agencies.
"Out of the total, 538 are presumed to be living in the North, 636 are presumed dead and 191 missing," Jun said.
Since the defection of Cho Chang-ho to South Korea in 1994, 41 former South Korean POWs have succeeded in escaping to the South, she said. Since 1953, 3,790 South Koreans have been taken to the North, the lawmaker said. Of the total, 3,304 have returned home while 486 are still detained in the North.
Among the detained 486, 435 are fishermen, 22 seamen, 12 passengers of a hijacked Korean Air flight and the remainder teachers, students and pastors.
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul