HRW voices concern over probe into 6 US citizens for trying to send rice to N. Korea

A member of an organization promoting human rights in North Korea fills a plastic bottle with rice in Seoul, in this June 18, 2020, file photo. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights organization, has expressed concern over the investigation targeting six Americans who tried to send money, rice and Bibles to North Korea about a week ago. Newsis

Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based human rights organization, has expressed concern regarding the investigation of six U.S. citizens who attempted to send money, rice and Bibles to North Korea last week.

Lina Yoon, a senior researcher on the Korean Peninsula at HRW, raised the alarm following the brief detention of the activists by South Korean police on June 27. They were accused of violating an administrative order that bans sending any materials across the inter-Korean border, a measure enacted due to safety concerns for local residents.

“The South Korean authorities’ use of a disaster-safety law to stop any North Korea-related border activity could deter groups that are trying to safely provide useful information to ordinary North Koreans. The government should not be discouraging careful, quiet outreach that allows North Koreans one of their few links to the outside world,” Yoon told The Korea Times recently.

Their attempt to send the materials to the North has come as the liberal Lee Jae Myung government has been seeking engagement with Pyongyang.

The activists attempted to float 1,300 plastic bottles containing food, U.S. dollars and other items by sea from Ganghwa Island, an island near the border, into North Korea, when they were spotted by a military patrol. Later, police apprehended the Americans on suspicion of violating the order, which was issued last year to ban sending anti-regime leaflets north by designating the entire county as a “risk zone.” The order was based on the disasters and safety law.

Violators of that order could face a maximum prison sentence of one year or a fine of up to 10 million won ($7,400).

According to police, the activists had recently entered South Korea on tourist visas. They are believed to have come here for missionary work.

Police reportedly considered imposing travel bans on the group but decided against it, as such bans are only applicable to those suspected of serious crimes punishable by death, life imprisonment or imprisonment for three years or more under the law.

Some critics say penalizing activists under the administrative order violates the Constitution, especially in light of the 2023 Constitutional Court verdict that struck down a controversial law criminalizing the sending of leaflets and other materials into North Korea.

Despite the legal challenges, many human rights activists remain committed to their work. Park Sang-hak, a prominent North Korean defector and democracy activist, has reportedly stated that he has no intention of ending his leaflet campaign.