The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said North Korea has taken an irresponsible attitude regarding abductees, detainees and prisoners of war(POWs), calling on the regime to show an active effort to resolve related issues.

Unification ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said on Wednesday that the issues have remained unresolved for a long time due to the North's passive stance, such as its failure to verify whether the subjects are alive or dead.

The spokesperson expressed regret that Pyongyang continues to irresponsibly claim there is nothing more to resolve regarding the abductees or what it can find out about them.

The ministry strongly urged the North to actively seek a resolution with an understanding that the matter is a serious one that concerns the protection of the lives of the Korean people.

Unification minister Kim Yung-ho, who presented families of abductees, detainees and POWs with a "forget-me-not" badge as part of the government's campaign on Wednesday, said the North had taken 100-thousand South Koreans during the Korean War, of which 60-thousand were POWs.

Kim also mentioned that Pyongyang has yet to repatriate 516 people abducted after the war and that six South Koreans have been illegally detained by the regime since 2013.