North Korea said yesterday a pro-unification activist who visited Pyongyang without Seoul’s permission would return home in the coming week, an event likely to deepen inter-Korean tensions.
Reverend Han Sang-ryol will walk across the border to the South on Friday, five days later than originally scheduled, the North’s Red Cross Society said in a notice to its South Korean counterpart.
He will cross the military demarcation line at Panmunjom at 3pm on Friday, the notice said, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Panmunjom, the Joint Security Area that straddles the border between the two Koreas, is controlled by North Korea and the US-led UN Command.
Crossing through Panmjunjom is rare.
Han, who traveled to Pyongyang on June 12 on an unauthorized trip, was initially set to come home today through Panmjunjom to underline his wish for inter-Korean reconciliation and to mark the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese rule.
The delay came after a Seoul official said the pastor’s border-crossing at Panmunjom would constitute a breach of the armistice as it would require UN Command approval, a remote possibility. Prosecutors have obtained a warrant to arrest Han the moment he sets foot on South Korean soil.
Han visited the North for celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2000 inter-Korean summit. He also gave speeches praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and denouncing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
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