Police prevent release of anti-North leaflets over safety concerns

Posted on : 2012-10-23 15:47 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
North Korea threatened a strike if anti-North materials were released over the border
 Oct. 22. (by Park Jong-shik
Oct. 22. (by Park Jong-shik

By Park Kyung-man, North Gyeonggi correspondent in Paju

A plan by North Korean defectors groups to send leaflets by balloon into the North on Oct. 22 was blocked by the South Korean police over concerns about the possibility of military conflict. The groups clashed with police near the border while the militaries of the two Koreas were locked in a tense standoff.

Determined to ban the launch of anti-North leaflets planned by the Alliance for the Advancement of Democracy in North Korea (whose members are mostly North Korean defectors), South Korean military and police set up a joint situation room at six in the morning on Oct. 22 at the Imjin Pavilion. Starting at 8:40 a.m., two roads to the pavilion, the Dangdong interchange and Yeougogae junction were blocked off by military police. More than 800 personnel were deployed.

Accordingly, 50 North Korean defectors from the alliance of North Koreans who arrived at Dangdong interchange, 4 km away from the Imjin Pavilion at 10 a.m. were stopped by the police and not allowed to continue ahead. They stood in confrontation with the police for four hours and staged a protest against the police‘s blockade before finally dispersing at 2 p.m.

The police said, “The move by the North Korean defector groups was prevented out of concerns for the safety of the nation as the North has threatened to wage a military attack in the event of a leaflet drop.” Meanwhile, Kim Sung-min, standing representative of the alliance said, “We will continue to send leaflets in order to inform the people of North Korea of the truth and to irritate the Kim Jong-un regime.” Residents living within the restricted area who remained alert to the situation returned to their daily routines in the afternoon. Residents said, with a sigh of relief, “We are just so fortunate [that nothing serious happened]. We hope there is not a repeat of this situation.”

The militaries in both North and South remained on high-alert throughout the day. An officer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “As the North Korean artillery stayed combat-ready, our military also kept up the highest level of alert.” The North Korean military deployed 130mm and 150mm self-propelled guns, 122mm and 152mm howitzers, and 122mm multiple rocket launchers. In response, the South Korean military deployed a K-9 self-propelled howitzer, 155mm towed artillery, and multiple rockets from the district military unit in the Imjin Pavilion area.

Originally, the defectors had planned to send up large balloons at 11 a.m. from the Imjin Pavilion area containing more than 200,000 leaflets carrying anti-North Korea messages including opposition to the succession of power over three generations. After learning about the plan, the Western Front Command of North Korea’s People’s Army Friday threatened on Oct. 19 to launch a military attack on the pavilion area if the pamphlets were sent.

 

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