MOSCOW, January 14 (Sputnik) — South Korean police arrested a former member of a far left political party on Wednesday on suspicion of praising Pyongyang during a lecture tour.
Hwang Seon, an activist for the reunification of North and South Korea, rose to prominence in 2005 when she had a baby in Pyongyang, and was subsequently detained in South Korea on charges of breaking the National Security Law, according to media reports.
Hwang, a member of the now-defunct Democratic Labor Party, was repeatedly criticized by conservative South Korean parties for supporting North Korea.
According to South Korea's National Security Law, support for Pyongyang is strictly prohibited as North and South Korea are, on paper at least, still at war. An armistice was agreed to following the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War but a peace treaty has not been signed.
Relations between the two counties remain strained despite ongoing attempts for reunification. The process towards Korean reunification was jump-started on June 15th, 2000, with a North–South Joint Declaration, in which the two countries agreed to work toward a peaceful reunification.
In spite of the intentions of the agreement the two sides continue to find reasons to disagree. Pyongyang has repeatedly accused Seoul of attempting to absorb the North following the inauguration of South Korea's current President Park Geun-hye in February 2013.
