Abductee family group to consider not sending leaflets to N. Korea
Choi Seong-ryong, head of the Association of the Families of Those Abducted by North Korea, poses after paying his respects at the Belgium-Luxembourg War Memorial in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Korean War. Yonhap
A South Korean civic group representing families of abductees held in North Korea said Tuesday it will consider suspending the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
Choi Seong-ryong, the head of the group, said he received a positive message by phone from a high-ranking government official on Monday and will later decide whether to stop sending leaflets to North Korea after discussions with group members.
The remarks came after Choi told reporters a week ago that his group is willing to halt the leaflet distribution if President Lee Jae Myung helps confirm the life or death of abductees through dialogue with the North and meets and comforts families of the abductees, particularly those in their 90s.
The unification ministry, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, said its new vice minister has held a phone conversation with Choi.
"In phone talks with Choi held Monday afternoon, Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung delivered a message requesting a halt in distributing leaflets and promised to listen to the opinion of abductee families," a ministry official told reporters.
The official said Choi appears to have accepted the government's request in earnest but did not elaborate on whether the government will seek to arrange a meeting with Lee as he had requested.
This year, Choi's group sent anti-North Korean leaflets across the border by balloons or drones from Imjingak in Paju on April 27, from Cheorwon in Gangwon Province on May 8 and from a border area in Paju on June 2.
But the Lee government has said it will consider revising the relevant laws and take steps to block the distribution of anti-North leaflets from the border areas.
"The current government officials understand the abduction issue better than anyone else, and they have helped us a lot in the past. I hope this government will definitely create an opportunity to confirm the life or death of the abduction victims through inter-Korean dialogue," said Choi in a meeting with reporters after paying his respects at the Belgium-Luxembourg War Memorial in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Choi's father was kidnapped in 1967 while fishing near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea and executed in North Korea in 1972 due to his history of cooperating with the U.S. military during the Korean War.