South Korea to act over anti-DPRK leaflets

South Korea decided yesterday to file a legal complaint against two civic groups having sent leaflets criticizing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, after Pyongyang’s action to sever all inter-Korean communication lines.

The South Korean unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said in a statement that the government will charge the two groups for violating the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation act.

The ministry noted the government will launch the process of canceling the permission of incorporation given to the two civic groups.

The civic groups delivered anti-DPRK propaganda leaflets across the inter-Korean border by flying balloons or setting the sealed plastic bottles into the ocean near the border areas.

The ministry said such acts were in violation of the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation act that requires people to get approval from the government before sending materials to the DPRK.

Such acts were directly in violation of the agreement between the leaders of the two Koreas, escalating inter-Korean tensions and endangering the lives and safety of people residing near the border areas, the ministry added.

Seoul’s action came a day after the Korean Central News Agency reported that the DPRK will “completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the north and the south.”

Other hotlines will also be cut off, including the East and West Seas communication lines between the two militaries and the hotline between the office building of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and South Korean president office Blue House.