North Reportedly Moves Detained S. Korea Tourist to Hotel

A South Korean homemaker detained by North Korea for allegedly trying to tempt North Koreans to defect has been moved to a hotel and is still undergoing interrogation, the Hyundai Co. said Wednesday.

There was still no word on when Min Young Mi, 36, might be released, said Hyundai, which arranged Min’s tour to North Korea.

Min had been undergoing questioning since Sunday in North Korea’s Kumgang tourism office in the eastern port of Changjon, which is the entry point for tours to North Korea’s fabled Kumgang or Diamond Mountains.

“The North Korean side told our employees in Changjon that Ms. Min Young Mi had been moved to a nearby hotel and was continuing to be questioned there,” a Hyundai spokesman said.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the government was using “all means possible” to secure Min’s quick and safe return and that Seoul would come up with “strong countermeasures” to resolve the situation.

It did not elaborate.

South Korea has suspended Hyundai’s tours to the North until it receives guarantees of the tourists’ safety.

The Hyundai spokesman said North Korean officials had informed Hyundai that Min was in good health and had been moved to a hotel about three miles from Changjon.

“Hyundai has provided her with meals three times a day, even after she was moved to the hotel,” the Hyundai spokesman said. “Though we cannot see her or talk to her, the officials assure us Ms. Min is doing well.”

North Korea says Min tried to tempt North Koreans to defect in a plot to foil the 8-month-old visitors program. The North has demanded that South Korea apologize.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted Min as telling North Koreans: “Those who defected to the South are well off now” and “If you come to the South, you will live in happiness.”

The report said the woman’s comments were part of a premeditated anti-North plot and that anyone who preached defection must “pay dearly.”

The ferry carrying Min’s tour group, including her 6-year-old son, returned to South Korea on Tuesday after it became clear that North Korean authorities would not release her.

The Hyundai spokesman said he could not confirm whether any of the tourists in Min’s group had overheard her remarks.

He said, however, that it was possible that Min had made the remarks.

“The tourists are all told on the ship that they should not say anything that alludes to North Korea’s beliefs,” the spokesman said.

“But it’s so easy to forget you are in North Korea once you arrive because they all speak Korean and they all look like us.”