South Korea will cooperate with the international community to win the release of two of its nationals detained in North Korea, a government official said Tuesday.

The decision was made at an inter-agency meeting on the two men, identified as Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil, on Monday.

Last week, the North announced that it arrested Kim and Choe on espionage charges and accused them of working for the South's state intelligence agency.

The meeting participants reaffirmed that the secretive communist nation's claims are groundless and its conduct violates human rights and humanitarian spirit, the unification ministry official told reporters on background.

"The government also decided to use diplomatic channels including the International Committee of the Red Cross and countries with embassies in North Korea," he said.

The government will make various efforts to get them freed and repatriated to the South, added the official. (Yonhap)