Six Americans have been detained on allegations of attempting to send over 1,600 bottles filled with rice, miniature Bibles, dollar bills, and USB drives to North Korea by floating them across.
South Korean police say the group was caught before they could launch the bottles into the water.
The incident happened Friday on the front-line island of Ganghwa, west of Seoul.
Authorities said the bottles were meant to drift across the sea and wash ashore in North Korea.
The group is now under investigation for possibly violating safety and disaster management laws, per The Associated Press.
Two officers with the Ganghwa police confirmed the detention but declined to share personal details, citing privacy laws.
They also revealed that the contents of the USB sticks remain unknown.
The US Embassy in South Korea did not immediately comment publicly on the situation.
South Korea has long seen similar campaigns by activists trying to send anti-regime messages across the border.
Balloons and bottles have often been used to carry leaflets, money and entertainment media, including South Korean dramas and K-pop.
The practice was officially banned from 2021 to 2023 amid fears it could provoke the North.
North Korea has lashed out over such campaigns in the past with angry statements and retaliatory actions.
In one bizarre move in 2024, the regime launched its own wave of balloons into the South — filled with trash.
Some of that garbage even landed at the South Korean presidential office.
Last summer, South Korea’s Constitutional Court overturned the leaflet ban, calling it too extreme a limit on free speech.
But officials say newer laws are now being used to prevent similar attempts, citing public safety.
What Was Inside the Bottles?
- 1,600 plastic bottles
- White rice
- Miniature Bibles
- $1 US bills
- USB sticks (contents unknown)
South Korea’s newly elected president Lee Jae-myung has taken a harder stance on unsanctioned actions near the border.
He has pledged to cool tensions and resume dialogue with the North.
In one of his first moves, Lee halted loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea.
Since then, no North Korean broadcasts have been reported in southern border areas either.
On Saturday, June 14, police arrested another person for launching balloons from Ganghwa Island.
It remains to be seen how North Korea will respond to Lee’s softer approach.
Pyongyang has repeatedly said it’s cutting ties with Seoul and rejecting peaceful reunification.
Diplomatic talks between the two countries have been frozen since 2019.
