hankyoreh

The Unification Ministry on Friday blocked a trip by eight student representatives to a joint inter-Korean event at North Korea's Mount Geumgang because of their affiliation with an organization suspected of pro-Pyongyang activities, ministry officials said.

The decision came one day before the eight student representatives were to travel to the communist nation along with 34 other students. The rest of the group will travel Saturday to attend the fifth North-South student leaders' meeting, according to the ministry officials. The meeting lasts until Monday.

"This is the first time in recent years when a group as large as eight has been blocked from a visit to North Korea all at the same time," an official said, asking not to be identified.

"The government only hopes the upcoming event will go as smoothly as possible, so it decided to prevent those whose participation may cause problems from visiting the North, after consulting with other related offices," the official added.

Ministry officials said the eight people are currently undergoing judicial procedures on suspicions of pro-Pyongyang activities or affiliation with pro-North Korea organizations.

South Korean organizers of the joint event at Mount Geumgang, however, later said only two of them are being tried for alleged violations of the anti-communist national security law, while the other six are only members of an organization that has yet to be labeled pro-North Korea by a court.

SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap)