Seoul, June 12 (IANS): South Korea said Thursday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) rejected its offer to hold dialogue over a detained Christian missionary in Pyongyang for more than seven months.
The South Korean government proposed to the DPRK Tuesday that the two sides should hold talks about Kim Jong-wook, who has been detained in the DPRK since October 2013, Xinhua reported.
The DPRK rejected the proposal, saying Kim pretended to be a missionary, illegally entered DPRK to commit "anti-state hostile acts" before being arrested and punished.
South Korea's ministry for DPRK policy said the rejection was very regrettable, and urged the DPRK once again to agree to the proposal.
Kim was convicted in North Korea of plotting to establish underground churches, subvert the government, illegally enter the country and conduct spy activities on behalf of National Intelligence Service (NIS), the South Korean spy agency.
He appeared at the DPRK-arranged news conference in February, saying he was arrested on Oct 8, one day after crossing into Pyongyang from Dandong, China.