6/27/2025 South Korea (International Christian Concern) — South Korean authorities detained six Americans today after they attempted to send 1,600 plastic bottles containing miniature Bibles into North Korea by sea. 

According to the Gwanghwa Island police, the Americans are being investigated because they allegedly violated the law on disaster management. The Americans reportedly threw the bottles, which also included USB sticks, money, and rice, into the sea, hoping North Koreans would eventually find them washed up on their shore. The police did not disclose the contents of the USB sticks.  

Christian missionaries and human rights organizations have attempted to send plastic bottles by sea and balloons by air into North Korea. The bottles and balloons often contain a wide range of items, from Bibles to anti-North Korean propaganda and references to South Korean pop culture. South Korean authorities banned the sending of such items across the border from 2021 to 2023, fearing the items could cause tensions with the North to boil over.  

South Korea’s Constitutional Court dismissed a law that criminalized the practice of sending such items across the border, claiming it restricted free speech. President Lee Jae Myung, however, has pledged to halt such campaigns since taking office weeks ago, arguing that such items could provoke North Korea.  

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