A South Korean pro-unification activist was arrested yesterday when he crossed the tense border from North Korea after visiting Pyongyang without Seoul’s permission, an official said.
Reverend Han Sang-tyol, who traveled to the North on June 12 on an unauthorized trip, walked back across the border at 3pm, the South’s unification ministry said.
“He was arrested soon after he crossed the border and taken to a place in Seoul for questioning,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
Han returned home through the village of Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to end the Korean War in 1953, to underline his wish for reconciliation.
About 200 North Koreans stood on their side of the village as Han — dressed in a traditional white overcoat and holding a flag depicting the Korean Peninsula, a symbol for reunification used by both countries — crossed the border, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.
They “warmly sent off” the pastor, waving bouquets and chanting slogans such as “national reunification,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
“Plain-clothes agents handcuffed him and hastily took him away,” it said.
More than 1,000 riot police were on guard near a military-controlled bridge leading to Panmunjom as a similar number of conservative activists from the South rallied, torching two North Korean flags and calling for Han’s arrest.
About 70 liberal activists held a separate rally near the bridge to welcome Han.
His arrest could deepen inter-Korean tensions, with North Korea having urged the South to stop what it called the “fascist suppression” of the pastor.
In a farewell ceremony earlier in Pyongyang, Han, quoted by KCNA, said: “I do not feel lonely and fearful as I am joined by fellow countrymen in the North and the South and abroad.
“I will wait and wait for our reunion with tears of joy,” he said.
Describing the pastor as a “reunification champion,” KCNA said top North Korean officials in charge of inter-Korean affairs took part in the ceremony.
KCNA said Han had met on Thursday with the North’s No. 2, Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the North’s parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly.
During his visit marking the 10th anniversary of the 2000 summit, he gave speeches praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and denouncing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS