Seoul, South Korea — Authorities in South Korea have arrested six United States citizens accused of attempting to send religious materials and humanitarian items across the maritime border into North Korea.
According to officials at the Ganghwa Police Station in Incheon, the six individuals — all American nationals aged between their 20s and 50s — were apprehended around 1:03 a.m. on Friday while trying to deploy plastic bottles containing rice, U.S. dollar notes, and Christian Bibles into the sea near Ganghwa Island, a known launch site for activist campaigns aimed at the North.
The head of the investigative team confirmed that the arrests were made under suspicion of violating the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, which governs prohibited activities in restricted zones. Due to a language barrier, interpreters were provided to facilitate the ongoing interrogation process.
Ganghwa Island, located northwest of Seoul, is one of South Korea’s closest territories to North Korea, with some stretches of sea lying less than 10 kilometers from the inter-Korean maritime boundary. The location has historically served as a launching point for various activist-led campaigns, particularly by religious and humanitarian groups attempting to reach North Korean citizens with messages of hope, USB drives, and supplies.
The South Korean government had officially designated Ganghwa and other border regions as danger zones in November of last year, warning that such operations could provoke aggressive responses from Pyongyang.
These developments come against the backdrop of ongoing propaganda tensions between the two Koreas. In 2024, North Korea retaliated against leaflet campaigns from the South by sending thousands of balloons filled with garbage across the border. In response, Seoul resumed its loudspeaker broadcasts along the frontier, playing K-pop music and international news bulletins aimed at disrupting the North.
Pyongyang, in turn, transmitted unusual and disturbing sounds, creating discomfort for residents in the border areas and escalating hostilities.
However, with the recent inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung, South Korea has begun charting a more conciliatory course in its dealings with the North. One of Lee’s early actions was to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, a move that was immediately mirrored by Pyongyang, which stopped its noise transmissions the following day — a signal of potential diplomatic thawing.
The detained Americans remain in custody as investigations continue, and South Korean authorities have yet to disclose whether charges will be formally filed.
By Taiwo Olatinwo| June 27, 2025
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