Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, right, speaks during a meeting with South Koreans who returned home after being abducted by North Korea, in Seoul, Dec. 7, 2023. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho vowed Saturday to make efforts to ensure the return of South Koreans detained in North Korea amid uncertainty over their fate after years of detention.

Kim made the pledge in an end-of-year gathering of the Christian Council of North Korea in western Seoul, as six South Koreans, including three missionaries, remain detained in North Korea for eight to 11 years.

"The government will continue to make efforts to confirm whether those detained are living and for them to return home under the firm principle of protecting our citizens," he said.

Kim also said the government is carrying out efforts to ensure North Korean defectors can comfortably settle in South Korea, calling it a task to be jointly tackled by religious groups, companies and society in general. (Yonhap)