Gyeonggi Province Submits Proposal to the UN to Ban the Distribution of Leaflets to North Korea

[Asia Economy (Uijeongbu) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has submitted a petition to the United Nations calling for a ban on the distribution of leaflets to North Korea.

On the 1st, Gyeonggi Province announced that it jointly submitted a petition with Paju City and Gimpo City to Thomas Ohea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, urging UN-level measures to prevent the distribution of leaflets to North Korea.

The joint petition was made in response to appeals from residents of border areas who feel that, while North Korean human rights organizations have actively expressed their positions by submitting letters criticizing the government and Gyeonggi Province's responses to leaflet distribution to international organizations including the UN, the damage and desperate feelings caused by the leaflet distribution have not been properly conveyed.

Through the petition, the province stated, "The distribution of leaflets to North Korea is an irresponsible act that destroys the hopes and desires of border area residents who want a peaceful life and is also against the basic spirit of unification," and requested, "On behalf of the residents of the border areas, we ask the UN to take strong measures to eradicate the act of leaflet distribution to North Korea."

In particular, it said, "Asking border area residents to endure enormous damage for the freedom of expression of some far-right defector groups is a result of ignorance of the special characteristics of border areas, which are greatly affected by inter-Korean relations," introducing actual cases of safety and property damage caused by leaflet distribution, such as the 2014 evacuation of residents in Yeoncheon County and the decrease in tourism revenue at Imjingak in 2011.

It went on to criticize, "Some far-right defector groups claim the improvement of North Korean residents' human rights as a justification for leaflet distribution, but most of the leaflets fall south of the Military Demarcation Line, and the content of the leaflets is mostly low-level political slogans, so they do not actually help improve the human rights of North Korean residents."

It emphasized, "If we truly want to improve the human rights of North Korean residents, a flexible yet strategic North Korea policy that promotes continuous exchange and cooperation through reconciliation under the firm principle of 'denuclearization of North Korea' is necessary."

Earlier, in May, when inter-Korean relations rapidly deteriorated due to leaflet distribution in the Gimpo area and the risk of military conflict in border areas escalated, the province quickly formed a task force (TF) and prepared strong measures to prevent leaflet distribution to protect the lives and safety of border area residents.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung criticized on social media in June, saying, "The distribution of leaflets to North Korea has no practical benefit and poses great risks," and added, "Peace has been threatened and inter-Korean relations have deteriorated due to the actions of some groups ignoring inter-Korean summit agreements."

Meanwhile, a public opinion survey conducted by the province in June with 1,200 residents showed that 71% of respondents said "leaflet distribution to North Korea should be stopped."

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