DPRK urges release of former South Korean official

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Thursday urged South Korea to unconditionally release Pak Ji Won, former chief secretary of President Kim Dae-jung, for medical treatment.

Pak, who worked for the historic meeting of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il and the then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in Pyongyang and the June 15 joint declaration, was jailed last June for "taking bribes."

"Pak has not yet received proper medical treatment due to the inhuman attitude of the authorities," a spokesman for the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee Thursday told the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pak is very sick and likely to lose his eyesight completely, but the prosecution said he may get treatment by visiting the hospital from prison, the spokesman said.

The spokesman, who applauded Pak as "one who performed a great feat on behalf of the nation by contributing to the historic Pyongyang meeting," urged the South Korean authorities to take his health into consideration and unconditionally free him so that he may receive medical treatment in peace, not in prison or hospital.

Source: Xinhua