Activists to send N. Korean currency with anti-Pyongyang leaflets

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean activist groups will attach N. Korean
currency to anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent into North Korea, replacing US$1 bills
following rumors that citizens found with the notes are arrested, an activist
said Thursday.
Seoul's National Intelligence Service partly confirmed the report, saying North
Korean authorities arrest and interrogate those who possess U.S. dollars
suspected of being sent with the leaflets from South Korea. The spy agency could
not comment on the form of punishment.
Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector and head of Fighters for Free North Korea
in Seoul, said his organization and another activist group will fly balloons
carrying some 300,000 leaflets into North Korea next month stuffed with 5,000
North Korean won notes.
"North Korea can't do anything against those found with North Korean money," Park
said.
The amount is enough to purchase about 2kg of rice, officials say, and is a
little more than the average monthly salary for urban workers.
Park refused to elaborate on how he acquired the North Korean bills, except to
say that they passed through China's border region with North Korea. Balloons
carrying about 300,000 leaflets will be flown from locations along the
inter-Korean border into North Korea when the wind direction shifts northward,
possibly next month, he said.
Defectors and families of South Korean citizens abducted by the North have,
despite government appeals, been sending balloons containing anti-North Korea
flyers for years.
In addition to dollar bills, the packages also contain daily necessities rare in
North Korea, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, stockings, aspirin,
ballpoint pens and lighters. Leaflets describe leader Kim Jong-il's alleged
lavish lifestyle, as well as his reported ill health and South Korea's prosperous
market economy.
North Korean authorities have repeatedly denounced the leaflets as "provocative."
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun urged the activists to "refrain from
the leaflet campaign as it is in violation of inter-Korean agreements to stop
propaganda activities."
The Seoul ministry will review whether it is legal for the activists to bring in
North Korean bills. South Koreans are required to receive government approval
before carrying North Korean money into the country for trade purposes. Failure
to do so could result in three years in prison or a 20 million won (US$15,198)
fine.
The anti-Pyongyang group Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea will also be
participating in the upcoming launch, Park said.
He noted that North Korea's State Security Agency, its top spy agency, issued a
fresh directive in November to arrest citizens carrying U.S. one dollar bills.
A spokesman for the National Intelligence Service said such sanctions were
already in place and that the agency would check the report.
"In connection with the leaflets, North Korea has been stipulating that citizens
should report those who possess dollars to the authorities. Such persons are
arrested and interrogated," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)