Activists sending plastic bottles or balloons to North Korea is creating tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Six US citizens have been detained in South Korea for attempting to ship 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar bills and Bibles to North Korea.
The Independent reports this.
The Americans were detained on Friday on Gwanghwa Island, where they were attempting to launch bottles into the sea. Their intention was to carry the containers across the maritime border with North Korea on tidal currents.
The police have confidentially confirmed the incident, saying that the men are currently under investigation. They are accused of violating security-related laws.
Activists sending plastic bottles or balloons to North Korea creates tension on the Korean Peninsula, prompting North Korea to respond by sending garbage-filled balloons to South Korea.
South Korea's Constitutional Court has struck down a 2020 law that criminalized sending postcards and other items to North Korea, calling it an excessive restriction on free speech.
But the new liberal government of President Lee Jae-myung is pushing to crack down on such campaigns through other security-related laws to avoid escalating tensions with North Korea and to promote the safety of South Koreans.
Let us recall that in early June, the leader of the opposition Toburo Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, won the snap presidential elections in the Republic of Korea.
