6 Americans nabbed for trying to send plastic bottles with rice, dollar bills to N. Korea
This undated file photo, provided by a North Korean defector group in South Korea, shows plastic bottles full of rice. Yonhap
Police on Friday apprehended six American citizens who attempted to release plastic bottles containing rice, one dollar bills and the Bible into the sea near a restricted border area in an effort to send them to North Korea, officials said.
The U.S. nationals in their 20s to 50s allegedly attempted to release some 1,300 plastic bottles containing the goods from the restricted area on Ganghwa Island, about 50 kilometers west of Seoul, in early morning hours.
They were taken into custody after a coastal military unit guarding the area reported them to the police and face charges of violating the management of disasters and safety framework act.
The area in question has been restricted to the public after being designated as a danger zone in November. An administrative order banning launches of anti-Pyongyang leaflets is in effect in the area.
A police official said they plan to question the U.S. nationals through an interpreter.
North Korean defector groups in South Korea have released such bottles into waters near the border in what they have described as efforts to send humanitarian assistance to the country's impoverished people.
President Lee Jae Myung, who took office earlier this month, has ordered measures to prevent launches of leaflets critical of North Korea and punish violators of related laws as he seeks to mend frayed ties with the North.