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| N Korea releases S Korean worker | N Korea releases S Korean worker |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| North Korea has freed a South Korean worker arrested in March at a joint industrial zone near the border, a South Korean official has said. | North Korea has freed a South Korean worker arrested in March at a joint industrial zone near the border, a South Korean official has said. |
| A spokesman for the unification ministry said the worker was handed over to employees of his company, Hyundai Asan. | |
| The worker, who is known only by his family name Yoo, was accused of undermining the North Korean system. | The worker, who is known only by his family name Yoo, was accused of undermining the North Korean system. |
| North-South Korean relations have been severely strained in recent months. | North-South Korean relations have been severely strained in recent months. |
| The BBC's John Sudworth in the South Korean capital, Seoul, says the release of Mr Yoo is seen as a sign that North Korea could be ready to take a more conciliatory approach towards its southern neighbour. | |
| It follows a visit to the North this week by the high-profile head of Hyundai Group, Hyun Jeong-eun, in an attempt to resolve the case. | |
| Mr Yoo's release comes just over a week after the North freed two US journalists following an unexpected visit by former US President Bill Clinton, who held talks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il. | |
| Release welcomed | |
| However, North Korea is still holding the four-man crew of a South Korean fishing vessel that was seized last month. | |
| The North said the boat had "illegally intruded" into its waters, and has said it is investigating the incident. | |
| On Thursday, dozens of protesters demonstrated in Seoul, calling for the release of Mr Yoo and the four fishermen. | |
| Mr Yoo was detained in March at the joint factory zone in the Northern border town of Kaesong, accused of insulting the North's communist system. | |
| Much of Hyundai's work inside the North was suspended after Mr Yoo was arrested. | Much of Hyundai's work inside the North was suspended after Mr Yoo was arrested. |
| About 100 South Korean firms use cheap Northern labour at factories in Kaesong. | |
| A council of the firms welcomed Mr Yoo's release, saying it hoped the move would "improve frozen South-North relations and revitalise" the factory zone, the Associated Press news agency reported. | |
| Mr Yoo was expected to return to the South later on Thursday. | |
| North and South Korea have never signed a peace treaty following their conflict in 1950-53 and are technically still at war. | |
| Relations have worsened since the conservative President Lee Myung-bak was elected last year. |