On Friday, the Democratic Party in South Korea announced the formation of a task force to stop activists within the country from distributing anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
The party also plans to propose a bill that bans the distribution of leaflets to avoid provoking the North, which has sent thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South since late May.
This development was reported by the South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
Addressing Public Concern
"(The government and the ruling party) are hiding behind the rhetoric of freedom of expression while ignoring the anxiety and fear felt by residents in the border areas and the public," Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said during a ceremony at the National Assembly celebrating the launch of the task force.
Lawmakers in the relevant committees will "actively support" measures to ban the "harmful and useless" distribution of leaflets, he added.
Rep. Yoon Hu-duk, head of the task force, stated he would implement all possible measures to prevent activists from sending the leaflets.
For years, North Korean defectors in South Korea and conservative activists have sent balloons carrying leaflets critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the North.
