N. Korea asked to separate suspect, drive

SEOUL, April 17 (UPI) -- South Korea said Friday that North Korea should not connect a South Korean prisoner with his country's planned membership in the Proliferation Security Drive.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said his country's plans to join the U.S.-led anti-proliferation drive should not impact how North Korea treats a detained Hyundai Asan Corp. employee, the Yonhap News Agency said.

"North Korea should not connect (these two issues)," Kim said.

"A humanitarian issue should not be connected to a political issue," he added. "This is a basic tenet of the international community."

The unidentified South Korean worker stationed at a Hyundai facility in the North Korean town of Kaesong has been detained since March 30. The worker stands accused of trying to convince a North Korean co-worker to defect and criticizing North Korea's political system.

Yonhap said there are concerns in South Korea that the country's membership in the international drive, which will likely focus in part on North Korea, could potentially delay the worker's release.