May 10, 2012
SEOUL: A South
Korean man has been arrested in Phnom Penh for allegedly smuggling a
North Korean restaurant employee out of Cambodia last year, Seoul's
foreign ministry said Thursday.
The ministry said the man,
surnamed Kim, was arrested at the airport as he tried to re-enter
Cambodia two weeks ago and accused of breaching "a law against human
trafficking and sexual exploitation".
Yonhap news agency said
the 35-year-old, a former North Korean refugee who became a South
Korean national, had been sought by Cambodian police in connection with
the disappearance of the North Korean woman in June last year.
The
woman, surnamed Moon and aged 25, was last seen leaving a Phnom Penh
hotel room with Kim. Her current whereabouts are not known.
"Mr
Kim has told Cambodian authorities that he has an intimate relationship
with Miss Moon," a foreign ministry spokeswoman told AFP. "We've made
contact with relevant agencies and asked for the case to be handled in
a fair manner."
Cambodia has diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea.
The
North has opened restaurants under local franchises in several
countries. They are seen as a useful source of scarce foreign currency
for the cash-strapped regime.
- AFP/ck
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