The South Korean government will step up the efforts to verify the death of Shin Sook-ja and have her daughters released from North Korea, officials said Wednesday.

“Through the Red Cross channel between the South and the North, and through international cooperation, the efforts for verifying her death and to facilitate the return will be increased,” a Ministry of Unification official said Wednesday.

Shin is a South Korean held in North Korea against her will since 1987. Shin defected to North Korea with her husband Oh Kil-nam in 1985 from Germany. Oh, however, defected from North Korea in 1986, and returned to South Korea in 1992 after he turned himself in to the South Korean Embassy in Germany.

Following Oh’s escape, Shin and their two daughters are believed to have been sent to a political prison camp.

North Korea notified the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on April 27 that Shin had died from hepatitis, which she contracted in the 1980s, in response to the U.N. organization’s request to verify her whereabouts. Pyongyang also claimed that Shin’s daughters ― Oh Hye-won and Oh Kyu-won ― are refusing to meet with their father.

The working group had requested Pyongyang on behalf of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea on March 1 to verify their whereabouts.

“North Korea’s response lacks details such as the time and location of Shin’s death. North Korea needs to provide more sincere answers. If Shin is dead, her remains and her two daughters should be returned to South Korea,” the Unification Ministry official said.

North Korean watchers in South Korea are also doubtful about Pyongyang’s claims.

“If Shin died, North Korea needs to provide details about when and where she died, and send her remains to South Korea,” lawmaker-elect Ha Tae-kyung of the Saenuri Party said. A former rights activist, Ha has been heavily involved in North Korean human rights issues including the activities of the ICNK.

Following Pyongyang’s response, the ICNK has requested the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to obtain evidence of Shin’s death and to prove that her daughters are not being detained.

“The will of the two daughters also need to be verified and an opportunity for meeting their father in a third country needs to be guaranteed.”

Although Pyongyang’s response has been received with skepticism, NGOs working for human rights in North Korea say that the response itself has significance for their cause.

“This is meaningful in that Pyongyang has admitted that they are in North Korea. Until now, with the exception of Japanese abductees, North Korea had remained silent on related issues,” Kwon Eun-kyoung, manager of Open Radio for North Korea’s international team, said.

However, Kwon says that North Korea’s response also serves Pyong­yang’s agenda.

“If North Korea remains silent, the working group only has our side of the story and therefore will have no choice but to assess the situation using only the information provided by us,” Kwon said.

Kwon also criticized the lukewarm attitude the South Korean government has taken on related issues until now.

Citing examples of Japan pressuring Pyongyang to reveal information regarding abducted Japanese nationals and the U.S.’ efforts to return home decades-old remains of its soldiers, Kwon said that Seoul’s leaders seem to “lack the courage” to take up the issue.

“Although the government has supported efforts through the Unification Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, top government officials lack the courage to officially take up the issue with North Korea,” Kwon said.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)