US Nationals Arrested in South Korea for Sending Bottles to North Korea
Enet
South Korean police arrested six U.S. nationals on Friday as they tried to send plastic bottles filled with rice, Bibles, and one-dollar bills toward North Korea, according to the investigation lead. The authorities said the suspects attempted to launch thousands of these bottles into the sea near Ganghwa Island around 1 a.m. when security forces intercepted them.
Authorities confirmed they detained and are questioning the Americans, who are in their 20s to 50s, for allegedly breaking the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management. Because the suspects do not speak Korean, an interpreter was provided, and officers have begun questioning them.
Ganghwa Island, located northwest of Seoul, is close to North Korea, with some parts of the nearby sea only about six miles from the maritime border. The area has a long history of activists and charities launching plastic bottles containing rice or USB sticks with K-pop music and Korean dramas into North Korea.
Last November, the government declared the region a danger zone, along with other border areas where protesters send balloons with leaflets across the border. The government warned that such acts might be seen as provocative by the North.
In the past year, tensions grew as North Korea launched thousands of balloons filled with trash at the South, claiming it was a response to South Korean activists' propaganda balloons. South Korea responded by playing K-pop and news through loudspeakers along the border. North Korea hit back with strange, unsettling noises that caused trouble for nearby residents.
