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NIS Director Kim Seung-kyu made the statement in a closed-doors meeting of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, according to lawmakers in attendance. At the time of their abduction, the five were all in high school. Kim Young-nam (then 16), Lee Min-gyo (18), Choi Seung-min (16), Lee Myeong-woo (17) and Hong Geon-pyo (17) were kidnapped from beaches in Kunsan and Shinan in 1977-8, and their fate was never confirmed.

The NIS said the men were originally forced to train North Korean agents on how to appear South Korean. Three of the men still work in such jobs.

Kim said instead of loudly calling for action by reminding the North of its moral obligation, the NIS will seek quietly to convince Pyongyang to return them home.

Meanwhile, the NIS said the double defector Ma Young-ae, who is in the U.S. awaiting a decision on her request for asylum there after defecting from both North and South Korea, is likely to be denied.

The director said even though Ma is a North Korean refugee, she is by law a South Korean citizen and her grounds for requesting asylum are not sufficiently clear. Kim said Ma claimed oppression in South Korea, but since the country is a democracy, U.S. authorities believed this to be improbable.

Kim said Ma asked for asylum because of a “misunderstanding of the procedures” for entering the country and “personal motives surrounding her son.” He was quoted as saying the U.S. was “burdened” with handling the case and concerned that it could set a bad precedent and give rise to issues of fairness for other asylum-seekers.

Ma came to South Korea via China in 2000. She later applied for asylum in the U.S. citing political pressure by South Korean authorities, who she said revoked her passport and citizen's registration number in January 2005.

Turning to the hijacking of the Korean vessel Dongwon off the coast of Somalia, the NIS said negotiations for the release of the crewmen are continuing and the situation is not threatening. Ransom will be in the region of US$300,000-500,000, he was quoted as predicting.

(englishnews@chosun.com )