Seoul, Oct 22 (IANS): Seoul Wednesday urged North Korea to release a South Korean Christian missionary who has been detained for about a year.

Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said the government has been calling for North Korea to set free Kim Jong-wook, who has been detained in North Korea since October 2013, Xinhua reported.

Lim urged North Korea to release Kim and repatriate him to South Korea as it set free Jeffrey Edward Fowle, one of three US citizens detained in Pyongyang.

His comments came after Pyongyang released Fowle Tuesday, who was detained in North Korea since April.

The spokesman said the South Korean government sent a notice to North Korea Sep 12, which demanded the release of the missionary.

Kim was arrested Oct 8, 2013, a day after crossing into Pyongyang from Dandong, China.

In May, the missionary was sentenced to hard labour in a trial held in North Korea for "anti-state" crimes.

He was convicted of plotting to establish underground churches, subvert the government, illegally entering into the country and conducting activities at the behest of the South Korean spy agency.