Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has urged North Korea to immediately and unconditionally release a detained South Korean missionary and five other nationals, denouncing the prolonged arbitrary detention as severe human rights violations. The minister's statement, marking 4,000 days since the missionary Kim Jung-wook was arrested in Pyongyang in 2013 and sentenced to life in hard labor on espionage charges, emphasized the need for North Korea to adhere to international human rights standards and free the unlawfully detained individuals. Kim strongly criticized North Korea for its unjust and harsh sentencing of the six detainees without fair trials, lack of procedural justice during arrest and detention, and continuous arbitrary imprisonment. He called on North Korea to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and the global community's condemnation of its repeated violations of universal human rights principles. Additionally, Kim pledged to enhance collaboration with the international community to address the plight of South Korean abductees, detainees, and prisoners of war, while also advocating for the release of Japanese abductees and individuals from other countries who have suffered from North Korea's human rights abuses.