SEOUL: Six elderly men convicted of spying for North Korea have formally requested repatriation to Pyongyang decades after completing prison terms in South Korea.
The group, aged 80 to 96, served lengthy sentences while maintaining allegiance to communist ideology after being captured during the Korean War.
Ahn Hak-sop, now 95, endured over 40 years imprisonment before his release, according to official records.
A Seoul-based civic group submitted the repatriation appeal, arguing the men qualify as prisoners of war under Geneva Convention protections.
“We have received an official request for repatriation,“ confirmed a Unification Ministry official handling inter-Korean affairs.
Authorities are evaluating potential solutions as more similar cases may emerge among surviving former convicts.
The appeal follows President Lee Jae Myung’s June election victory and subsequent pledges to rebuild relations with nuclear-armed North Korea.
Recent confidence-building measures include removing border propaganda loudspeakers that Pyongyang long condemned as psychological warfare.
President Lee recently affirmed plans to “respect” North Korea’s political system while establishing military trust mechanisms.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed Seoul’s overtures days earlier, stating Pyongyang lacks interest in reconciliation.
The 2000 repatriation of 63 unconverted prisoners through Panmunjom remains the sole precedent for such transfers during brief diplomatic thaw. – AFP
