Gyeonggi-do Provincial Government Extends 'Danger Zone' to North Korea' indefinitely

Gyeonggi Province has decided to indefinitely extend the "danger zone" set in 11 cities and counties in three cities and counties, including Paju City, Gimpo City and Yeoncheon County, until the end of this month to prevent the spraying of leaflets against North Korea.

Kim Sung-joong, the first vice governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, said in a press briefing, "For the survival rights and safety of residents in the border area, the period of establishing dangerous zones will be extended indefinitely until the separation is lifted."Deputy Governor

Kim said, "The weather conditions continue to be possible to spray leaflets to North Korea in winter, and the threat from North Korea continues, threatening the right of survival of the border residents," adding, "The timing of the lifting will be decided later by comprehensively considering the revision of related laws and changes in conditions."

Previously, the province set 11 cities and counties, including Paju, as dangerous zones from the 16th of last month to the 31st of this month, and it has been reported that there has been no spraying of leaflets against North Korea in dangerous zones since then.

The establishment of a dangerous zone is based on the Disaster and Safety Management Framework Act (the Disaster Safety Act) and is a response to North Korea's threats to increase the spraying of filth balloons and infiltrate drones into Pyongyang.

Under the Disaster Safety Act, a person involved in spraying North Korean leaflets will be sentenced to up to one year in prison or fined up to 10 million won for entering a dangerous zone or violating other prohibition or restriction orders.

The dangerous zone has a 24-hour on-site response system where more than 120 people, including Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police Corps, city and county officials, and police, patrol every day.