美 정계•北 인권보고관, 대북전단금지법 우려 표명...정부 "국민 생명•안전 보호" 적극 반박
U.S. politicians and international human right activists have expressed concern over a law passed in South Korea earlier this week... that bans people from sending anti-North Korea leaflets over the DMZ into the North.
The South Korean government was quick to defend the law, saying that sending the leaflets endangers the lives of people in the South.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reportedly expressed concern over South Korea's law to ban the practice of floating balloons with anti-regime leaflets into North Korea.
An article by the Washington Post said Biegun privately conveyed the Trump administration's concerns about the legislation during his trip to Seoul last week.
The law, which was passed at the National Assembly early this week, stipulates punishing those who send the leaflets with up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 27-thousand U.S. dollars.
The VOA reported Friday that the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the U.S. Congress is going to convene a hearing on the issue when the new session begins in January.
And this week, U.N. special rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana said he hopes Seoul reconsiders the legislation before it goes into effect, citing freedom of expression.
Seoul's unification ministry was quick to respond to the UN rapporteur's remarks, saying the law was amended through a democratic procedure at the National Assembly that represents the consensus of public opinion.
Seoul's vice foreign minister Choi Jong-kun said in a radio interview on Friday that the amendment was the least lawmakers could do to protect the lives of 1-point-2 million South Koreans living near the border.
He mentioned an incident in 2014 when North Korea fired at balloons which had been released by a group of North Korean defectors in Gyeonggi-do Province.
On Thursday, Seoul's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said in an interview with CNN that freedom of expression can be limited if it poses a threat to people's lives, citing the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
