National Investigation HQ issues response guidelines for anti-North leaflet operations

New rules under revised Police Duties Act spell out procedures, including physical restraint

Agencies can be asked for North Korea intelligence; physical detention of activists permitted

Defector groups, including the Fighters for a Free North Korea, launch balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets bearing slogans such as "Stop nuclear missiles" and "The Kim dynasty will fall" near the inter-Korean border in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on April 2, 2016. [Yonhap]
Defector groups, including the Fighters for a Free North Korea, launch balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets bearing slogans such as "Stop nuclear missiles" and "The Kim dynasty will fall" near the inter-Korean border in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on April 2, 2016. [Yonhap]

Police will receive monthly intelligence on North Korea from the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense and other agencies and use it as a basis for deciding whether to block anti-North Korea leaflet launches near the border — including physically detaining activists when deemed necessary.

The Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters recently distributed a set of response guidelines titled "Guidelines for Responding to the Scattering of Anti-North Korea Leaflets and Similar Materials" to police agencies and stations in border areas.

The guidelines follow the revised Police Duties Execution Act, which took effect July 1 and explicitly added "blocking the scattering of anti-North Korea leaflets in border areas" to the list of police duties. The law provides a legal basis for officers to intervene in urgent situations where leaflet launches near the inter-Korean border pose a risk to citizens' lives or property. The amendment was sponsored by Han Jeong-ae, policy chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, and passed the National Assembly in November last year.

A revised enforcement decree enacted alongside the law allows police to seek opinions from relevant government agencies when determining whether the conditions for blocking a leaflet launch have been met. Agency heads that receive such a request must submit their assessment to police without delay unless there is a legitimate reason not to do so.

Police to seek regular North Korea briefings from Unification Ministry and others

Panel to review whether conditions for blocking leaflet launches are satisfied

The manual drawn up by the National Investigation Headquarters instructs police to obtain assessments from relevant agencies on the impact of leaflet launches on inter-Korean relations, the risk of heightened military tensions and the possibility of provoking North Korean retaliation. The agencies designated for such requests are the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Service. The manual also calls for police to formally request information on North Korean affairs and military movements from those agencies once a month.

Regular requests are to be sent through the government's internal administrative network, known as the On-Nara system. Separately, the manual instructs police to contact relevant agencies by phone or text message as needed when gathering intelligence related to leaflet launch activities.

Assessments submitted by the agencies will be reviewed by a "Leaflet Scattering Risk Deliberation Committee" chaired by the director of the National Investigation Headquarters' security investigation bureau. The committee will weigh agency assessments alongside analysis from the bureau to determine whether intervention is warranted. In making that determination, the committee will consider North Korea's past patterns of retaliation in response to leaflet launches, whether recently launched leaflets have reached North Korean territory, and the likelihood that a launch will heighten inter-Korean tensions.

The final call on whether to intervene at the scene rests with the officers on the ground. The manual states that officers must draw on specialized intelligence from the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense and other agencies — covering North Korean affairs and military movements — together with information gathered by police themselves, when assessing the danger posed by a leaflet launch.

The National Investigation Headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Lim Se-jun
The National Investigation Headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Lim Se-jun

Police: North Korean provocation risk must factor into decisions

Manual aims to shield officers from legal challenges after leaflet-ban ruling

Police drew up the manual in part to ensure officers have a clear legal footing when enforcing the law, taking into account the Constitutional Court's 2023 ruling that the inter-Korean Relations Development Act — which criminalized anti-North Korea leaflet launches — was unconstitutional. A police official said that after the ruling, officers had little choice but to respond passively to leaflet launch attempts out of concern over potential legal challenges.

The official said the Constitutional Court, while ruling that a blanket ban and criminal penalties on leaflet launches violated freedom of expression, had specifically cited police intervention as a less restrictive means of protecting public safety.

When activists sent leaflets north in 2024, North Korean authorities responded with what became known as "trash balloons," triggering fires at multiple locations across the greater Seoul area. If similar retaliatory actions are anticipated to harm civilians, police will now be empowered to take active intervention measures on the ground.

The manual states that officers may escalate the level of intervention in stages depending on conditions and the degree of risk at the scene, that measures to block the equipment and materials used in a launch should be carried out first, and that direct physical restraint — including grabbing, restricting movement and temporary detention — is also permitted. However, any such physical restraint must be applied to the minimum extent necessary and lifted immediately once the situation has ended, the manual adds.

No leaflet launches have been reported since the revised Police Duties Execution Act took effect.

Police explained the rationale for the manual by noting that leaflet launches differ from ordinary offenses in that the danger they pose is tied to the risk of North Korean provocation — making it impossible to assess the threat solely from the immediate situation on the ground. Officers must therefore consider not only the scene itself but also the broader possibility of North Korean retaliation when deciding whether to intervene, police said.


arin@heraldcorp.com