Seoul: The South Korea National Assembly on Sunday passed a bill led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) that would give police legal authority to block attempts to send “anti-Pyongyang” leaflets near border areas.
The amendment to the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers allows police to intervene in the launch of leaflets near the inter-Korean border, aiming to prevent activities that could heighten tensions between the two Koreas, Yonhap news agency reported.
The bill was passed at a plenary session, shortly after the main Opposition — People Power Party (PPP)’s filibuster ended through a vote 24 hours after it began.
The DP has said that the legislation is necessary to protect the safety of border residents and to help reduce military tensions, while the PPP opposed the bill, saying it infringes on freedom of expression.
The move follows the recent passage of a revision to the Aviation Safety Act, which bans the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in restricted areas, effectively blocking the use of drones to distribute leaflets toward North Korea.
The legislation comes as the South Korean government seeks to ease military tensions along the border under President Lee Jae Myung’s pledge to improve inter-Korean relations and resume dialogue with Pyongyang.
In South Korea, groups led by North Korean defectors have long sent balloons carrying leaflets criticising the Pyongyang regime across the border, which repeatedly fueled tensions between the two Koreas.
In 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that a previous government ban on launching the leaflets violated freedom of expression, finding that provisions of the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act imposed excessive restrictions on the right.
Earlier this week, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said that keeping the possibility of adjusting joint South Korea-US military exercises open to consultation may help revive dialogue between the US and North Korea, as the allies explore ways to re-engage with Pyongyang.
Chung made the remarks as whether to leave room for adjusting or downsizing joint military exercises with the US has been a source of debate among South Korean policymakers as an option to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table.
“South Korea-US combined exercises are only a means of achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula, not an end in themselves,” Chung said at a press conference on Saturday.
“Maintaining a position that (adjusting the exercises) could be subject to discussion could help open the door for US negotiations with North Korea,” Chung said, reiterating President Lee Jae Myung’s comments made to the media last week.
He made the point as both Seoul and Washington look for ways to revive long-stalled dialogue with North Korea to address security concerns stemming from Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons development.
(IANS)
