Human rights experts conclude DPRK’s detention of three South Koreans for nearly 11 years violates international law
[Joon Ha Park](https://www.nknews.org/content_author/joon-ha-park/) March 14, 2025
Imprisoned South Korean missionaries Kim Kook-kie, Kim Jung-wook and Choi Chun-gil (from left to right) | Image: ROK Ministry of Unification
A U.N. working group has concluded that North Korea’s imprisonment of three South Korean missionaries constitutes “arbitrary detention” without clear standards, demanding their immediate release after nearly 11 years, according to Seoul.
In a statement released Friday, South Korea’s unification ministry announced that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), based in Geneva, adopted the stance on March 13 regarding missionaries Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil.
A U.N. working group has concluded that North Korea’s imprisonment of three South Korean missionaries constitutes “arbitrary detention” without clear standards, demanding their immediate release after nearly 11 years, according to Seoul.
In a statement released Friday, South Korea’s unification ministry announced that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), based in Geneva, adopted the stance on March 13 regarding missionaries Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil.
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