SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2020) The South Korean authorities have revoked operation permits for two groups of North Korean defectors whose activities to spread of propaganda leaflets in North Korea were found threatening the unification efforts, media reported on Friday.
Earlier in July,� Seoul accused the leaders of the two groups - Fighters for a Free North Korea and Kuensaem - of violation of the law on inter-Korean cooperation. Both organizations have been sending balloons with leaflets to the territory of North Korea despite the government's ban and in violation of laws regulating inter-Korean agreements.
The South Korean government asked activists to stop such activities, but they have ignored the request, citing the right to freedom of speech. The spread of propaganda leaflets has resulted in a sharp deterioration of relations between Seoul and Pyongyang this summer.
"The act of scattering leaflets and goods by these entities ... gravely hindered the government's unification policies and efforts towards unification, jeopardized the lives and safety of residents in border regions and created a tense situation on the Korean Peninsula," the Unification Ministry said, as quoted by Yonhap news Agency.
The ministry believes that the revocation of operation permits will make it hard for the groups to raise money for their activities.
Tensions on the peninsula escalated after North Korea cut off communications with its southern neighbor and in June blew up the joint liaison office in the border town of Kaesong. According to Pyongyang, the move was in line with "the mindset of the enraged people" over propaganda leaflets that drifted in from the South.
