Tension at the Border: US Citizens Detained for Attempting Aid to North Korea
Six U.S. citizens were detained by South Korean police for allegedly trying to send rice, dollar notes, and Bibles to North Korea. Their actions were deemed a violation of a disasters and safety act in a sensitive border area. Investigations are ongoing while diplomatic tensions remain.
- Country:
- South Korea
South Korea's police have detained six U.S. citizens who allegedly attempted to send around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes, and Bibles into North Korea. The group was intercepted near a border island west of Seoul, as a military patrol noticed their activities, a police official confirmed to Reuters.
The detained individuals are accused of breaching a disasters and safety act, prohibiting potentially harmful activities in what is termed a 'risk zone.' The police are currently investigating the case through an interpreter and will decide within 48 hours whether to release them, according to the Incheon Ganghwa Police Station official.
This incident follows South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's efforts to reduce tensions with North Korea. Since his tenure began in June, Lee has suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts and discouraged activists from launching critique-laden balloons. The detained Americans' actions highlight ongoing discord that South Korea's new administration and the prospective unification minister, Chung Dong-young, seek to mend.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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