Seoul: A South Korean activist, who has supported North Korean defectors, was detained in Vietnam last Wednesday, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.
The 52-year-old activist was arrested by Vietnamese authorities at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, the official said without giving further details.
South Korea has requested a meeting with the activist.
Meanwhile, Yonhap News Agency reported earlier today that the activist, identified by his surname Yoo, was arrested for allegedly helping arrange a way for some North Korean defectors to enter South Korea.
Yonhap said Yoo is also believed to have played a role in helping more than 400 North Korean defectors fly to Seoul from Thailand in 2004.
Southeast Asian nations, such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, have been a preferred transit route for North Korean defectors, who escape through China with the hope of eventually settling in South Korea, home to more than 23,000 North Korean defectors. (Kyodo)
PTI
