South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho strongly condemned North Korea's unlawful detention of six South Korean nationals and demanded their immediate and unconditional release in a statement released Friday, which also marked the 4,000th day of captivity for missionary Kim Jung-wook, the longest-held detainee.

In a coordinated display of solidarity, the US State Department also issued its first-ever official statement on the detention of South Korean nationals in North Korea, timed to coincide with Seoul's announcement.

"North Korean authorities do not provide even minimal information, such as confirmation of life or death about our nationals who were illegally arrested and are currently detained, adding to the suffering of their families over the years," Kim decried.

"The ROK government condemns North Korea's illegal and inhumane human rights violations and strongly urges the North, which is a party to major international human rights instruments, to immediately and unconditionally release our nationals who are illegally detained," the statement added, referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

According to the Unification Ministry, the statement marked the first-ever issued by a unification minister to condemn North Korea's arbitrary detention of South Korean nationals and call for their immediate repatriation.

Kim Jung-wook -- who had been carrying out humanitarian aid and missionary work for North Korean residents and defectors along the China-North Korea border -- was arrested by North Korean authorities on Oct. 8, 2013.

In May 2014, he received a life sentence of hard labor on charges unilaterally imposed by North Korea, including plotting to overthrow the regime, engaging in anti-state propaganda, and illegally crossing the border.

Missionaries Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil have been held in North Korean custody since 2014, while three North Korean defectors have been detained since 2016.

In his statement, the unification minister also underscored that the return of six South Korean detainees is a "concern shared by the international community."

"Therefore, with today’s statement, international solidarity and calls for their immediate release will only grow stronger," the statement read.

"North Korea must not ignore our legitimate demands concerning the lives and safety of our citizens and must clearly recognize the seriousness of the issue, as well as the international community's strong warnings against their repeated violations of universal human rights norms," it added.

The US State Department and Global Affairs Canada also issued statements Thursday local time, specifically naming Kim Jong-wook, highlighting the 4,000th day of his captivity, and calling for the immediate repatriation of South Korean nationals detained in North Korea.

The Kim Jong-un regime had detained Americans and one Canadian -- all of whom have since been released.

"We urge the DPRK to immediately release all those who have been denied fair public trials and are subjected to unjust or arbitrary detention. The US remains gravely concerned about the lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability within the DPRK’s judicial system," the press statement attributed to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller read.

The DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The State Department's statement also condemned "the DPRK’s systemic violations and abuses of human rights and (called) for the immediate and unconditional release of all those unjustly detained in North Korea."

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement, "Canada calls for their release and for North Korea to meet its international human rights obligations."

In a separate statement, the Unification Ministry emphasized the importance of the concurrent issuance of these statements, noting that they reflect the international community’s shared commitment to resolving the issues of abductees, detainees and unrepatriated prisoners of war.

The simultaneous issuance of the statements demonstrates that commitment between allies reaffirmed during key events, such as the Camp David summit between the leaders of South Korea, the US, and Japan in August 2023, is now being translated into concrete action, the ministry explained.

The Unification Ministry formed an Abductees Response Team in September last year, placing it under direct ministerial oversight. Since then, the ministry has launched a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening international cooperation to address and resolve the issue.

In August, the ministry organized a first-ever event where families of South Koreans abducted and held captive by North Korea made a direct appeal to foreign embassies in Seoul, calling for global support to elevate these long-standing cases to the UN for action and resolution.

Kim Jeong-sam, elder brother of missionary Kim Jung-wook, expressed on Friday, "I have found strength not only through the Unification Ministry but also from the support of governments and civil societies around the world. I am confident that missionary Kim Jung-wook will one day be reunited with his family."