South Korea arrests activist for praising North

The Seoul Central District Court said on Wednesday it had agreed to issue the warrant for 41-year-old Hwang Sun's arrest because of "the graveness of the charges" and the likelihood she would make similar remarks in the future.

Hwang was detained over comments she made about North Korea and its leaders at a series of lectures that she gave with US citizen Shin Eun-mi.

The two women were said to have contravened South Korea's National Security Law (NSL), enacted in 1948.

The law prohibits the spoken or written promotion of North Korean ideology. Such activities are deemed to be against the state and are punishable with up to seven years imprisonment.

'Flattering comments about Kim'

As well as the comments Hwang is alleged to have made at the talks across the country, she is also accused of making flattering comments about North Korea on YouTube and of writing blog posts that praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Shin, a Korean-born US citizen who arrived in South Korea last year as a tourist, was expelled from the country on Saturday and barred from re-entering for five years. Among her complaints was the contention that the South Korean media were trying to sour relations between the two countries.

Washington's wariness

Speaking in response to Shin's deportation - also said to have been due to a breach of immigration law - the US State Department expressed its reservations about the limits placed on freedom of expression by South Korea's NSL.

However, speaking on Monday, South Korea President Park Geun-hye ruled out the possibility of reviewing the law. "Given our unique situation in which the two Koreas are still confronting each other, we need a minimum level of laws to protect ourselves," Park said.

A state of war has existed between North and South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

rc/bk (AFP, Reuters)