INVESTIGATION INTO ANTI-REGIME LEAFLETS

[Anchor Lead]

The law that bans the dissemination of anti-regime leaflets in North Korea went into effect in last March. One North Korean refugee group recently announced that it had sent leaflets in violation of this law. Police searched the group’s office yesterday to start an investigation.

[Pkg]

Police investigators leave the building with seized materials. This is the office space occupated by Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors group headed by Park Sang-hak. Investigators seized Park’s vehicle to check where he had been.

[Soundbite] Park Sang-hak(Head, Fighters for Free N. Korea) : "People use T-map these days instead of that."

The police are focused on finding evidence pointing to anti-North Korea leaflets among the seized materials. Park claimed that he had air-ballooned 500,000 leaflets across the border in two separate rounds between April 25th and the 29th.

[Soundbite] Park Sang-hak(Head, Fighters for Free N. Korea) : "April 2021, I’m sending these leaflets in time for the 18th North Korea Freedom Week."

Even North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong has personally denounced Park’s announcement.

[Soundbite] (Korean Central TV(May 2)) : "We regard the malicious activities of the garbage in South Korea as a serious　provocation against our country and will review taking reciprocal actions."

The revised Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act penalizes those who drop anti-regime leaflets in North Korea with up to three years in prison or maximum 30 million won in fine. If Park’s claims are true, he would be the first violator of this law since it went in to effect last March. Once the police finish analyzing the seized materials, they plan to summon him next week for questioning.

[Soundbite] Park Sang-hak(Head, Fighters for Free N. Korea) : "How can it be such a frightening and wrongful crime to send hopeful letters about　the truth and the freedom of democracy to 20 million North Koreans?"

Park declared that he would continue sending leaflets over to North Korea in spite of the penalties.