Anglers discovered the bottles on an Incheon tidal flat; a separate case last year saw six Americans attempt to float 1,300 bottles toward North Korea

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Police have launched an investigation after more than 10 plastic bottles filled with rice were found on a tidal flat on Yeongjongdo, Incheon.

According to the Incheon Yeongjong Police Station, anglers called police and the coast guard Sunday around 11 p.m. to report the bottles on a tidal flat beneath Muui Grand Bridge in Muui-dong, Yeongjong-gu.

Coast guard officers who responded to the scene recovered more than 10 1.5-liter plastic bottles from the tidal flat.

All of the bottles contained rice, and one or two also held $1 bills, according to authorities.

Police are investigating to identify whoever released the bottles and plan to determine whether they were intended to be sent toward North Korea.

"The location where the bottles were released has not yet been confirmed," a police official said. "We plan to proceed with the investigation while keeping all possibilities open."

Attempts to float rice-filled plastic bottles northward have occurred repeatedly in border areas of Incheon near North Korea.

Last June, six Americans were arrested in Ganghwado, Incheon, after attempting to send 1,300 plastic bottles toward North Korea. The bottles contained rice, US dollars, Bibles and USB drives loaded with South Korean films. The suspects, who ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s, told police at the time that they had come from the United States for missionary work.

In November 2024, a man in his 50s was arrested near Seokmo Grand Bridge on Ganghwado on charges of violating the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management after attempting to float 121 rice-filled plastic bottles into the sea.


jshan@heraldcorp.com