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.
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