The south Korean authorities branded Sin Un Mi, a Korean in the U.S., and Hwang Son, representative of the Forum for the Study of Politics Desired, as "followers of the north," taking issue with them over their "past activities". Sin and Hwang gave lectures on their impressions of their visit to the DPRK in Seoul and other parts of south Korea last year. The south Korean authorities perpetrated such fascist violence as expelling Sin from south Korea on Jan. 10 and detaining Hwang on Jan. 14.

And they investigated a member of the "National Assembly" from the Democratic Alliance for New Politics for the mere reason that the person participated in the lecture. Not content with the arrest of Hwang, they summoned and investigated Yun Ki Jin, co-chairman of the Solidarity for Democracy, People's Life, Peaceful Reunification and Sovereignty, who is the husband of Hwang. On Jan. 13 and 18 they also inflicted severe punishment on a former teacher in the fifties and a citizen in the thirties on the suspicion that they posted articles praising the north on websites and had "copies of literature benefiting the enemy."

Making a new year's report to the present chief executive, the Ministry of Justice said that it would provide a "legal ground" so as to ban the activities of the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification and other "organizations benefiting the enemy" and organizations praising the north and issue an order to disband them.

The statement bitterly denounced the campaign to eliminate the "followers of the north" in south Korea as traitorous, anti-reunification act of totally challenging the desire and wishes of all fellow countrymen aspiring after reconciliation, unity and reunification.

The statement said the "theory of eliminating the followers of the north" touted by the south Korean authorities is, in essence, the theory of heinous confrontation with fellow countrymen and confrontation of systems, and "dialogue" and "confidence" advertised by them while denying the system of the other side are shameless deception.

"Dialogue" and "unification" touted by the south Korean authorities are nothing but a sleight of hand to deceive the public at home and abroad and calm down the angry mindset of people, and the evermore undisguised racket for eliminating "followers of the north" cannot be interpreted otherwise than an open declaration that they would continue suppressing the pro-reunification progressive forces even though dialogue is open in the future, the statement said, and went on:

In order to achieve national reconciliation and unity it is necessary to put an end to acts of the south Korean authorities meeting all brigandish demand of the U.S., not an act of "following the north".

Any sincere dialogue and improved relations between the north and the south cannot be expected as long as the U.S. interference in internal affairs of the Korean nation is not checked and the south Korean authorities do not abandon the attitude following the U.S. and their persistent confrontational nature.

The south Korean authorities should stop at once treacherous anti-reunification racket denying and antagonizing the dialogue partner and going against the aspiration and desire of fellow countrymen, and take a sincere attitude to improve inter-Korean relations.