Repatriated N. Koreans repeat Pyongyang's kidnapping accusations against S. Korea

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- A group of repatriated North Koreans claimed Thursday that they had been held in South Korea against their will, accusing Seoul of kidnapping and attempting to force them to defect, according to Pyongyang's official news agency.
In February, 31 North Koreans drifted across the tense western sea border to the South aboard a troubled wooden vessel. Twenty-seven of them were repatriated late last month, but four others remained in the South after they expressed their desire to defect.
North Korea has accused the South of kidnapping its citizens and demanded that the four others be repatriated. The South has flatly dismissed the allegations, saying that the four decided to defect in accordance with their free will.
On Thursday, the North held a press conference where 10 repatriated citizens repeated the regime's allegations, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). One of them, identified as Ok Song-hyok, alleged that his group was "kidnapped, mistreated and pressed to remain in South Korea," according to the KCNA.
The KCNA said that Chinese, Russian and U.S. reporters attended the conference.
South Korean officials have said that the North's claims are groundless and not even worthy of a response. The South is willing to help the North confirm the "free will" of the four defectors in a fair and objective manner, they said.