Six US citizens arrested while launching bottles which contained rice, bibles, and US dollars toward North Korea.
South Korean police on Friday arrested six American nationals attempting to send plastic bottles packed with rice, Bibles, and money into North Korea via the sea near Ganghwa Island, officials said.
The group was intercepted around 1:03 a.m. while trying to launch thousands of bottles from the island, located just 10 kilometers from North Korea’s maritime border.
“We have arrested and are questioning six American nationals in their 20s to 50s on suspicion of violating the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety,” said the head of the investigation team at Ganghwa Police Station in Incheon.
The suspects, who do not speak Korean, were provided with an interpreter for questioning.
Ganghwa Island is a known hotspot for activist launches of anti-regime materials. The area was declared a danger zone last November.
The arrest comes amid easing tensions, with South Korea’s new president Lee Jae Myung adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Pyongyang and suspending provocative loudspeaker broadcasts.