Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong has called on civic groups to refrain from circulating anti-North Korean leaflets.

Speaking at Ewha Womans University on Friday, he said the activity does nothing to help inter-Korean relations and violates the spirit of the joint agreement banning mutual slander.

He said there's no legal basis to prohibit the leaflets, saying their distribution has worked to provoke North Korea. He said the government will continue to ask civic groups to refrain from the circulation activities.

In a parliamentary inquiry of his agency, National Intelligence Service Director Kim Sung-ho agreed with the minister when he said Thursday that the civic groups' handouts can negatively affect cross-border ties.