A South Korean abductee has escaped from North Korea after more than 30 years in the communist state and is now in China, an activist said Thursday. Choi Wook-il, 67, fled the North in December and is in a "safe place" in the northeastern Chinese city of Yanji, said Choi Sung-yong, the head of a group of relatives of South Koreans allegedly kidnapped by the North.Choi Sung-yong said he orchestrated the escape and has asked the South Korean government for help in bringing the abductee home. He said the government has promised to cooperate but has taken no action. A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity, said Seoul would try to bring him home through consultations with China.
The abductee ended up in the North when his fishing boat was seized off South Korea's east coast in 1975. He is among 485 South Korean civilians believed to have been kidnapped by the communist regime, with the rest believed to still be held there. Besides the civilian abductees, South Korea also estimates that about 500 soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War are still alive in the North. North Korea denies holding any prisoners of war, and claims that civilians voluntarily defected.