Gyeonggi-do Forms Task Force to Prevent Distribution of Leaflets to North Korea

[Asia Economy (Uijeongbu) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has formed a task force (TF) to respond to the leaflet distribution toward North Korea.

On the 16th, Gyeonggi Province held the first TF meeting for measures to prevent the distribution of leaflets to North Korea, chaired by Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Jae-gang, with 16 heads of related departments attending. They reviewed specific implementation plans and departmental strategies following the announcement made by the province on the 12th.

The TF is led by the Deputy Governor for Peace and includes 16 senior officials at the manager level or above from related departments such as the Peace Cooperation Division, Social Disaster Division, Architectural Design Division, Military-Civil Cooperation Officer, and Legal Affairs Officer.

The TF is responsible for implementing, coordinating, and inspecting departmental measures to prevent leaflet distribution, discovering additional countermeasures, and cooperating with related agencies.

Earlier, the province defined the illegal distribution of leaflets to North Korea as an act threatening the lives and safety of residents and announced three response measures: ▲designating danger zones in some border areas and banning leaflet distributors from entering ▲restraining preparatory acts such as vehicle movement and gas injection before leaflet distribution and preemptively blocking illegal acts ▲taking strong actions including crackdowns, investigations, and prosecutions through the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit.

At the first TF meeting, the province established an emergency contact network with Gimpo, Paju, Pocheon cities, Yeoncheon County, and the Southern and Northern Gyeonggi Police Agencies, where leaflet distribution is frequent, to ensure immediate reporting and response when such acts occur.

Regarding the designation of danger zones, based on investigations by cities and counties, the province plans to designate existing leaflet distribution areas as soon as possible and issue orders banning entry and leaflet distribution activities in these areas.

Additionally, the province will conduct joint crackdowns with cities and counties in expected leaflet distribution areas and impose fines when leaflets are collected.

Furthermore, to detect acts of dumping leaflets or PET bottles containing rice into shared waters or the sea, the province will conduct frequent surveillance of potential dumping areas in cooperation with Gimpo City. Upon detection, the Special Judicial Police Unit will be deployed to investigate, and if necessary, offenders will be arrested on the spot.

Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Jae-gang emphasized, "We must use all administrative means to prevent leaflet distribution activities so that the lives and safety of residents in border areas are not threatened. We will take every possible measure to ensure that leaflet distribution does not occur at least within the Gyeonggi Province area."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.