South Korea's unification ministry on Monday rejected North Korea's claim that Seoul has enticed and abducted North Koreans who worked at a restaurant in China.

North Korea's committee on inter-Korean affairs urged South Korea Sunday to repatriate the North Koreans, arguing that Seoul had carried out a plot to kidnap them to rally conservative voters for its general elections last week.

A group of 13 North Koreans who used to work at a North Korea-run restaurant in the Chinese eastern port city of Ningbo defected to South Korea en masse earlier this month amid toughened international sanctions.

The Ministry of Unification dismissed the North's claim as groundless, urging Pyongyang to immediately stop its insistence.

"We strongly warn that North Korea (should stop) its absurd claim and threat of retaliation," Jeong Joon-hee, a ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "North Korea should take care of the livelihood of its own people and protect their human rights."

North Korea-run restaurants in foreign nations serve as one of the main sources of hard currency for North Korea as dollar earnings are suspected of bankrolling the North's nuke and missile programs.

South Korea estimates that North Korea is running approximately 130 restaurants in some 12 countries including China, Vietnam and Cambodia, earning $10 million annually. (Yonhap