美 정계•北 인권보고관, 대북전단금지법 우려 표명...정부 "국민 생명•안전 보호" 적극 반박<br /><br />U.S. politicians and international human right activists have expressed concern over a law passed in South Korea earlier this week... that bans people from sending anti-North Korea leaflets over the DMZ into the North.<br />The South Korean government was quick to defend the law, saying that sending the leaflets endangers the lives of people in the South.<br />Yoon Jung-min reports.<br />U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reportedly expressed concern over South Korea's law to ban the practice of floating balloons with anti-regime leaflets into North Korea.<br />An article by the Washington Post said Biegun privately conveyed the Trump administration's concerns about the legislation during his trip to Seoul last week.<br />The law, which was passed at the National Assembly early this week, stipulates punishing those who send the leaflets with up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 27-thousand U.S. dollars.<br />The VOA reported Friday that the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the U.S. Congress is going to convene a hearing on the issue when the new session begins in January.<br />And this week, U.N. special rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana said he hopes Seoul reconsiders the legislation before it goes into effect, citing freedom of expression.<br />Seoul's unification ministry was quick to respond to the UN rapporteur's remarks, saying the law was amended through a democratic procedure at the National Assembly that represents the consensus of public opinion.<br />Seoul's vice foreign minister Choi Jong-kun said in a radio interview on Friday that the amendment was the least lawmakers could do to protect the lives of 1-point-2 million South Koreans living near the border.<br />He mentioned an incident in 2014 when North Korea fired at balloons which had been released by a group of North Korean defectors in Gyeonggi-do Province.<br />On Thursday, Seoul's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said in an interview with CNN that freedom of expression can be limited if it poses a threat to people's lives, citing the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.<br />Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.<br />
