Dec. 26 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry and the National Security Office have told families of South Korean nationals detained in North Korea that President Lee Jae-myung's recent remarks on the issue resulted from a misunderstanding of a question and problems with on-site interpretation, according to relatives.
Family members said Unification Vice Minister Kim Nam-joong and officials from the ministry met relatives of detainees, including the families of missionaries Kim Jeong-wook and Choi Chun-gil, ahead of Christmas. They offered condolences and said the government would address the detainee issue, while explaining that Lee's comments at a foreign press briefing on Dec. 3 stemmed from a misunderstanding of the question.
Relatives also said the National Security Office contacted families after the Dec. 3 briefing at the presidential guesthouse and said the detainee issue had been reported to Lee in September. Officials said Lee confused it with a separate case involving a South Korean detained in connection with a Cambodia scam incident, and said interpretation problems prevented an appropriate response, the families said.
At the Dec. 3 briefing, Lee responded to a question about South Koreans detained in North Korea by saying he was hearing about it "for the first time" and asked national security adviser Wi Sung-lak whether it was true. After the question was clarified, Lee said he lacked specific details and would review the matter.
