Latest news with #anti-Pyongyang
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee calls for efforts to restore inter-Korean relations
President Lee Jae Myung called for efforts Thursday to mend strained inter-Korean ties, saying peace between the two Koreas is the most realistic and practical path to ensuring national security. Lee made the remarks while presiding over a National Security Council meeting, the first since he took office in early June, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters. "We must make efforts to restore severed relations between South and North Korea," Lee was quoted as saying. "Peace and coexistence between the two Koreas is the most realistic and practical option for safeguarding our national security." He urged participants to take a comprehensive view of the shifting international order, the domestic political situation and North Korea-related factors to prevent national security threats. Lee has ordered a halt to the military's propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and called on civic groups to suspend their distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets, expressing hope that the reconciliatory gestures could pave the way for resuming dialogue with the North. The NSC meeting was attended by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, senior presidential aides, the deputy chief of the National Intelligence Service and senior officials from the ministries of national defense, foreign affairs, unification and safety. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Families of abductees halt anti-North Korea leaflet campaign
A South Korean civic group representing families of abductees held in North Korea officially announced Tuesday that it would halt its distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. 'We were moved after receiving direct phone calls from Unification Minister candidate Chung Dong-yong, Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung and Rep. Yoon Hu-duk (of the Democratic Party of Korea),' said Choi Sung-ryong, head of the Association of the Families of Those Abducted by North Korea. 'We promise to the people that we will halt our distribution of leaflets containing information about our abducted family members.' The remarks were made at a press conference held at Imjingak, in Paju, near the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas. The Lee Jae Myung administration had ramped up measures to stop the launches of anti-Pyongyang leaflets, detailing information about South Koreans abducted by the North after the 1950-53 Korean War, calling the act 'illegal.' The leaflets included messages that criticized the North Korean regime, such as 'If only Kim Jong-un disappears, our abductees will return.' Choi expressed hopes that the group's decision would cater to President Lee's efforts to 'hold a summit and revive dialogue' with Pyongyang, so that the families divided by war could be reunited soon. 'We hope that the families divided by war, (families) of war prisoners and those abducted by the North could meet (at the border city) of Kaesong, even if (the meeting) is held behind closed doors,' Choi said. 'We hope the Lee Jae Myung administration could resolve our suffering by allowing us to smoothly communicate with our family members (abducted by the North).' The civic group, which began launching the leaflets across the border in 2008, had halted the campaign for over a decade in 2013, heeding to the request of the then-Park Geun-hye administration. However, it had relaunched the campaign in October last year and has since dispersed leaflets multiple times, despite calls from the Unification Ministry for them to stop. The group attempted to officially launch the leaflets through an open event in October last year and April this year, but was stopped by police and border area residents. Instead, they unofficially sent the leaflets without government authorization in April, May and June this year. Despite the government's long-standing efforts to halt the leaflet campaign, South Korean courts have sided with the civic groups that organized such activities, deeming them legal. In September 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled the anti-leaflet law unconstitutional, nullifying a provision in the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act that banned such activity. In March 2025, the Seoul High Court also rejected an injunction seeking to halt leaflet campaigns by North Korean activist groups, including one representing families of abductees.
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
No more anti-Pyongyang leaflets, abductee family group announces
Group representing the families of abductees held in North Korea asks government to address the issue A civic group representing the families of those abducted by North Korea announced Tuesday it will no longer send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border, after the South Korean government requested that it discontinue the campaign. Choi Seong-ryong, who heads the group, said the members will "trust the government and stop sending the leaflets," at a press conference held at Imjingak in Paju, about 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul. He expressed hope that President Lee Jae Myung will approach the issue of North Korean abductions through active conversation with the families. The abductee families' group had a phone conversation with Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung on June 23, during which Kim expressed the government's sympathy with their troubles and requested that they suspend the leaflet campaign. According to the Unification Ministry, Kim also pledged that the government will listen to the abductee families' opinions on the matter. A day after the conversation, Choi's group expressed its intent to no longer send the leaflets. It also called on other civic groups to do the same. Since the Moon Jae-in administration agreed to turn off loudspeakers broadcasting anti-regime propaganda at the border in 2018, leaflet campaigns have been a main method used by civic groups to disseminate propaganda against Pyongyang and expose North Koreans to the realities of the outside world. The loudspeaker broadcasts resumed in 2024 at the height of inter-Korean tensions, but were discontinued last month shortly after President Lee took office. The leaflet campaigns, however, have been a hotly debated topic in South Korea. While South Koreans denounce the North's continued disregard for human rights and its nuclear programs, many members of the public believe that the leaflets do more harm than good by raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In 2020, North Korea cut off communications with the South after criticizing the leaflets. In a survey conducted by local broadcaster KBS in June of that year, 60.6 percent of respondents said the civic groups should stop flying the leaflets. Another survey by pollster Real Meter in the same month showed that 50 percent of respondents thought sending the anti-Pyongyang leaflets should be made illegal, while 41.1 percent opposed the idea of banning it by law.
New York Post
05-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
North Korean man crosses heavily fortified border into South Korea
An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military said Friday. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a 'guiding operation' before taking the person into custody Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. 3 An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, according to reports. AFP via Getty Images The Joint Chiefs said it notified the U.S.-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. 3 The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a 'guiding operation' before taking the person into custody. AP 3 South Korean authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. AP In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines, and carried out other work to bolster border defenses amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
North Korean Man Crosses the Heavily Fortified Border to South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military said Friday. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a 'guiding operation' before taking the person into custody Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the U.S.-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defenses amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
