Hyundai Asan chief visiting N. Korea over detained worker

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- The chief of Hyundai Asan Corp., which operates joint
economic ventures in North Korea, traveled there on Friday to discuss the early
release of an employee detained for allegedly denouncing the North Korean regime,
a Seoul official said.

Cho Kun-shik, president of Hyundai Asan, is making a one-day trip to the North
Korean border town of Kaesong, where the employee has been detained for five
days, said Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo.
The Hyundai worker, a man in his 40s, was taken into custody at the joint
industrial complex in Kaesong on Monday for allegedly criticizing the North's
political system and encouraging a female North Korean employee to defect.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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