Pyongyang, October 14 (KCNA) -- The south Korean Press Trade Union, the Journalists Association and the Internet Journalists Association issued a joint statement on Oct. 10 denouncing the puppet police for its suppression of journalists.

The police crackdown on journalists who were covering rallies and demonstrations has gone beyond the tolerance limit these days, said the statement.

The police whisked off a journalist who was covering the protest against the construction of a naval base in Kangjong Village on Jeju Island on Oct. 4.

On Oct. 8 cameramen taking video of the struggle for the settlement of Hanjin Heavy Industrial Co. Ltd. issue in Pusan were arrested. The police even fired tear gas on a photographer of the "Voice of People" the same day, putting him in a faint.

The suppression of the journalists in their legitimate news coverage on charges of the violation of the "law on assembly and demonstration" is a violation of the freedom of press, it said, adding:

The police repressive campaign is by no means an accidental one but an organized and premeditated crackdown on the progressive news agencies.

The statement urged Chief of Police Agency Jo Hyon O to apologize for the reckless suppression of journalists and sternly punish those related to it.