June 30, 2025
SEOUL – Six American nationals were caught early Friday in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, while attempting to send plastic bottles filled with rice, $1 bills and Bibles to North Korea.
The group, ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, allegedly tried to launch about 1,300 bottles into the sea at around 1 a.m. on Friday, according to South Korean police.
The South Korean military, which had been monitoring the coastline using surveillance cameras, spotted the group and reported them to police. The group was caught before putting the bottles in the ocean.
“Since the Americans are not fluent in Korean, we’ll be assigning a translator to assist with a more thorough investigation,” police said.
Sending materials to North Korea from Ganghwa-gun has been banned since Nov. 1 of last year, under an administrative order issued due to safety concerns and complaints from local residents.
People in the area have voiced concerns about noise and the risk of retaliation from the North.
This is not the first attempt to send items across the border since the ban was imposed.
On Nov. 3 last year, a man was caught trying to send 121 plastic bottles filled with rice. Police said he had planned to use the ocean tide to carry them to the North. At the time, the man told police that he “came up with the plan after hearing that North Korean residents were starving due to a lack of rice.”