Incheon, June 27 South Korean 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 US 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 kilometres 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.
Police said the US nationals will be investigated without detention as their actions do not currently warrant an arrest warrant, Yonhap news agency reported.
Police found that the individuals are not affiliated with any civic or religious groups in Incheon and were working to determine whether they have ties to other organisations in and out of South Korea.
"We're going to release them as we believe the situation does not call for requesting an arrest warrant, and we plan to continue investigating them without physical detention," a police official said.
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.
South Korean 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.
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