Their belongings were the things sent by the family members and relatives living in the homeland to the family members and relatives living in Japan and so they could not be the targets of sanctions unreasonably imposed by Japan on the DPRK.

There was an emergency press conference at the Korean Hall in Tokyo on June 29 condemning the customs authorities' reckless discriminative and inhumane act.

Present there were journalists of Chongryon and Japan and foreign journalists in Japan.

So Chung On, director of the Department for International Affairs and Reunification of the Chongryon Central Standing Committee, and Ho Kyong, principal of Kobe Korean High School, spoke at the conference.

Charging that the customs authorities of Japan confiscated souvenirs and other things of the Korean students under the pretext of unreasonable "sanctions" on the DPRK, the speakers urged the customs authorities to make an apology for the brutal human rights abuse and the Japanese government to lift the hostile policy toward the DPRK and Chongryon as early as possible.

The Japanese authorities should immediately stop the unjust discrimination and suppression of Chongryon's democratic national education and ensure all rights of the Koreans in Japan in the light of international law.

Then followed answers to the questions raised by journalists.