Unification ministry says revised law will likely end anti-N. Korea leaflet launches

This undated photo shows leaflets and other materials confiscated from activists who attempted to send them to North Korea inside large balloons across the inter-Korean border. Courtesy of Yeoncheon Police Station

A recent revision to the Aviation Safety Act will help end activists' launches of propaganda leaflets across the border into North Korea, in line with the government's efforts to ease military tensions with the North, the unification ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry's response came a day after the National Assembly, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, passed a revision to the Aviation Safety Act that prohibits the flight of any self-floating objects in restricted areas.

The revision effectively makes it illegal for activists to send large helium-filled balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border into North Korea. Previously, self-floating objects carrying materials weighing less than 2 kilograms were exempt from such restrictions.

"With the revision of the Aviation Safety Act, the distribution of anti-North leaflets that has hindered inter-Korean relations and threatened safety and peace in border regions is likely to be stopped," the ministry said in a release.

President Lee Jae Myung's administration has taken preemptive measures, including suspending anti-Pyongyang leaflet and broadcasting campaigns, to ease military tensions and restore trust with North Korea, the ministry said, adding that the revision will support such efforts.

The main opposition People Power Party vehemently opposed Tuesday's passage of the revision, accusing the ruling party of reinstating a ban on leaflet campaigns toward North Korea in violation of the right to free expression.