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Prosecutors question activists on use of N. Korean banknotes
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Thursday questioned two activists who brought in North Korean bills for their leaflet campaign criticizing North Korea, allegedly in violation of South Korean law.
The South Korean government has not restricted the controversial leaflet campaign, which criticizes North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as "the most vicious dictator and murderer," saying there was no law to stop it.
But the Unification Ministry requested a probe for the first time last week, after the activists attached North Korean banknotes to their flyers to encourage North Korean citizens to pick them up.
Bringing North Korean money into South Korea is permitted only for trade purposes or for personal possession. Violations can result in up to three years in jail or 10 million won (US$6,562) in fines, according to the law on inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.
A North Korean defector, Park Sang-hak, and Choi Sung-yong whose fisherman father is allegedly being held in North Korea, flew scores of North Korean banknotes attached to some 20,000 propaganda leaflets toward North Korea via gas-filled balloons on Feb. 16, Kim's birthday. Most of the flyers never reached the North, however, because of unfavorable winds.
Prosecutors said they questioned the activists about how the North Korean money was brought in. Other details were not available.
"They asked us how we acquired the North Korean bills and how much we have," Park said.
The activists previously claimed that they had received the North Korean bills through middlemen in the Chinese border region near North Korea and that they didn't need government approval as their purpose for bringing them into the country is not stipulated as requiring prior government approval.
The leaflet campaign has been highly irritating to Pyongyang, as it openly disparages the North Korean leader and anticipates the regime's fall.
Seoul officials are concerned that the campaign may provoke Pyongyang to take coercive action amid increasing border tension and the North's suspected preparations to launch a long-range missile.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
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