Anchor: The South Korean government said Wednesday it is filing a complaint with police against two North Korean defector groups over their anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns. This comes a day after the North cut off all inter-Korean communication lines, blaming Seoul for failing to prevent the defectors from carrying out what it called "hostile activities."
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: The South Korean government is seeking to disband two North Korean defector groups, which have been carrying out anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns.

Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoh Sang-key revealed the decision Wednesday, accusing them of violating regulations on inter-Korean exchanges.

[Sound bite: Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoh Sang-key (Korean/English translation)]
"Today, the government filed complaints against Park Sang-hak, chairman of the Fighters for Free North Korea, and Park Jeong-oh of Keun-saem on charges of violating regulations on inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, seeking to revoke the organizations' licenses. The government has determined that the two groups violated export approval regulations by sending leaflets and plastic bottles, and caused inter-Korean tensions by going against agreements reached by the leaders of the two Koreas, threatening the lives and safety of residents in border areas." 

Seoul's latest decision comes after Pyongyang severed inter-Korean communication channels a day earlier due to the leaflet campaigns.

Despite heightened tensions, the North Korean defector groups were planning to send more leaflets across the border via hot air balloons on June 25, the anniversary of the Korean War. 

In an interview with KBS World Radio, Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for Free North Korea, argued the government should not violate his right to free speech.

[Sound bite: Park Sang-hak - chairman, Fighters for Free North Korea (Korean/English translation)] 
"How can the South Korean government say it will block the basic right of free speech guaranteed under the Constitution? That is a very wrong, unconstitutional idea. Our leaflets do not contain poison or bombs. They are only letters filled with the facts and truths of defectors for some 20 million North Koreans. They are just letters of facts and truth for the 20 million North Korean people who have lost their eyes and ears to the tyranny of the leader -- those who have no rights and are not aware of how the digital society of the 21st century works."  

The two defector organizations, each run by Park and his brother who escaped from North Korea, also attempted to send rice in plastic bottles to the North by sea, but were thwarted by residents of South Korean border areas.

North Korean media outlets have ramped up harsh rhetoric against South Korea in recent days, airing footage of angry citizens and university students protesting against anti-Pyongyang leaflet activities in the South.

In the fall of 2014, North Korea fired air defense machine guns at balloons carrying leaflets across the border, leading to a brief exchange of fire between the two Koreas across the demilitarized zone.   Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.