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[catman]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea...003000315F.HTML

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- Seoul views North Korea's prolonged detention of a South Korean worker as "serious" and will consider taking action should Pyongyang continue to refuse access to him, a spokesperson said Monday.

North Korea detained the employee of Hyundai Asan Corp. on March 30 in the border town of Kaesong, where a joint industrial complex developed by the South Korean company is located.

"Our government considers North Korea's prolonged inquiry into our worker a serious situation," Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told reporters.

She called the detention "very unjust" and "inhumane" and warned that Seoul "will consider taking various measures" should no progress be made towards securing his release.

Notifying Seoul of the detention, North Korean authorities claimed the worker had denounced Pyongyang's political regime and tried to tempt a female North Korean employee into defecting.
Seoul officials have not been able to confirm the charges as the North has ignored repeated fax messages calling for access to the as yet unidentified employee, an engineer with Hyundai Asan. The spokeswoman did not say what measures could be taken, amid concerns that Seoul has few options available for pressuring Pyongyang.

Hyundai Asan President Cho Kun-shik has made daily visits to the Kaesong complex, about an hour's drive from Seoul, to pressure North Korea into granting access to the employee.

Seoul officials say the detained worker should not remain isolated and that he has the right to be represented by an attorney under inter-Korean accords on joint economic ventures. The accords guarantee "basic rights" for South Korean workers detained by the North.

North Korean officials said they were abiding by the agreements and ensured the safety of the worker during meetings with the Hyundai chief last week, but insisted there was no stipulation in the accords allowing for direct access to detained individuals.

Under the accords, North Korea can question South Korean workers or tourists who violate its laws while on North Korean soil. If the charges are proven, violators can be punished with a verbal warning, a fine or by expulsion, but cannot be tried within the country.

The Kaesong complex opened as a major inter-Korean economic project following the first summit between leaders of the two sides in 2000, though operations have been increasingly threatened by worsening political relations since last year. In the latest instance, North Korea twice prohibited visits by South Koreans to the complex for up to several days after it shut the inter-Korean border in protest over a South Korea-U.S. military drill.

Currently, over 100 small garment and other labor-intensive South Korean firms are operating with about 39,000 North Korean employees.

Hyundai Asan, a unit of Hyundai Group, developed the complex as part of its economic ventures in North Korea. Its other ventures with Pyongyang -- tour programs to Kaesong, an ancient capital, and the scenic Mount Kumgang resort -- were suspended last year due to worsening relations.

The North is also preparing to indict two U.S. journalists being held on charges of illegal entry and unspecified "hostile acts."

[Hater Depot]

Time for a sternly worded letter.