`Some Delegates Contacted North in Advance`

The Prosecutors Office announced on Tuesday that it was investigating five members of `Beom Min Nyeon` (the Pan Korean Alliance for Reunification), including Kim Kyoo-Chul vice president of Beom Min Nyeon, who were suspected of having contacted the North before they were allowed to visit the North by the Ministry of Unification, and of having had illegal meeting with the North Korean people.

A prosecution official said that ``five members including vice president Kim are suspected of having contacted the North beforehand, and having met with their North Korean and overseas` counterparts to revise their joint charters. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) took the five people to the police station, and they are under investigation.``

The official also said that ``besides these five people, 37 people participated in the joint meeting. It is possible that more South Korean members participated in the meeting, who are subject to investigation. After delegation arrived in Pyongyang, strange activities of the five members, including Kim, were found. In the process of confirming their activities, it was found that they had contacted the North in advance.``

The Prosecutors Office and the NIS reportedly confirmed that the five members had agreed to have a separate meeting by contacting the North, after tracing the five members activities before they were allowed to visit North Korea since the five members were revealed that they had participated in prohibited events.

A prosecution official said that ``if delegation members were involved in activities other than approved events, their illegal activities fall under the charges of infiltration, escape as well as meeting and communication, and they are subject to the NIS`s investigation.``

The Prosecutors Office, the National Police Office (NPO) and the NIS had taken Dongkuk University Sociology Professor Kang Jeong-Gu (Policy chief of the Unification Solidarity), who wrote `the spirit of the Mangyongdae` at the visitor`s note, and 11 members of the Unification Solidarity, who initiated the participation in the ceremony at the Monument to the Three Charters of the National Unification, upon their arrival via at Gimpo Airport at 2:15 pm on Asiana flight. The detainees are under investigation.

The police reported that the arrest was delayed because some of the members strongly protested against the arrest in the process of taking them into the police station. The government took them at the entry inspection boost of the Ministry of Justice within the security zone of the airport in order not to reveal the arrest scene to the press, and restricted the report of the press corps.

The Prosecutors Office and the NPO decided to successively summon and investigate other people, who participated in both opening and closing ceremony of the Grand Festival of the National Unification at the Monument of the Three Charters of the National Reunification, besides the 16 people.

The NPO stationed 2,300 police (23 troops) at Gimpo Airport in preparation for the emergency.

Shin Suk-Ho kyle@donga.com