Seoul bars activists from bringing in N. Korean currency

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government announced on Wednesday it
will not allow local activists to bring in North Korean currency for the purpose
of resending it to the North along with anti-communist leaflets.

"The government's position is that it should not permit bringing in North Korean
bills, due to concern that it may damage the order of inter-Korean exchanges,"
Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the Unification Ministry handling North Korea
affairs, told reporters.
Defying the announcement, organizations of North Korean defectors and families of
abducted South Koreans vowed to go ahead with a plan to fly a fresh batch of
propaganda leaflets across the heavily fortified border in February. They said
the new leaflets will be flown with North Korean bills attached to encourage
people to pick them up.
North Korean defectors and families of South Korean citizens abducted by the
North have been sending the propaganda leaflets since 2004, hoping for the fall
of the communist regime. The vinyl flyers call North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a
prodigal womanizer who secretly enjoys expensive wine, flashy cars and envies
South Korea's prosperous capitalism.
The activists began attaching US$1 bills to the flyers in April last year. But
rumors that North Korean authorities were incarcerating those found with $1 notes
prompted them to replace them with higher-denominated North Korean currency, the
activists said.
North Korea has repeatedly condemned the leaflet campaign as "provocative."
Choi Sung-yong, head of Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea, said the
activists have already acquired North Korean bills and will send the leaflets as
soon as the wind direction shifts northward next month. He did not disclose who
brokered the illegal import of the bills, but said they were brought in via
China.
"We are fully prepared," Choi told Yonhap News Agency. "I'm sending the money to
my father in North Korea. If the government still insists this is illegal, I have
nothing to say."
Choi's father, a South Korean fisherman, was allegedly abducted by North Korea in
1967.
The ministry spokesman said the decision to ban North Korean bills was reached
after discussions between relevant government agencies, apparently including the
Justice Ministry and the National Intelligence Service.
The activists will face punishment should they go ahead with their plan,
according to the spokesman.
South Koreans may bring North Korean currency into the country only for trade
purposes and must first receive government approval. Failure to abide by such
rules can result in up to three years in jail or a 10 million won (US$7,300)
fine.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)