S. Korea Arrest 16 People Back From PyongyangThe National Police Office and National Intelligence Service announced Tuesday that 16 people who had attended the joint Liberation Day celebration in Pyongyang had been taken in for questioning with regard to their activities there. The Seoul District Prosecutors Office said that several of the 16 are suspected of participating in various prohibited events on the orders of North Korea, prior to their departure there.Chun Sung-kwan of the SDPO's Public Security Department said that it had been confirmed that five members of "Beom Min Nyeon" (the Pan Korean Alliance for Reunification), a pro North organization, met with their North Korean and overseas' counterparts to revise their joint charters. Chung said that this was not mentioned when they applied to go the North and so it was highly likely that this illegal meeting had been planned beforehand. The delegation arrived at Gimpo Airport from Pyongyang at 2:15pm on two Asiana flights and father Kim Jeong-su, nominally in charge of the group read a statement apologizing for the behavior of some of the party, in participating in prohibited events. However, he added that there had been some positive achievements from the exchange. At the airport some 300 members of "Han Chon Nyeon," a pro North Korean student body clashed with 700 veterans protesting the delegation's actions, while 2,600 police stood guard. |
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