During
his stay in the reclusive communist nation, Han Sang-ryol accused his home
country of sinking its own warship in March and raising tensions on the
peninsula.
He was
detained Friday upon crossing the truce village of Panmunjom along the border
separating the Koreas, a police official said. He asked not to be identified
because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The
official said prosecutors could seek an arrest warrant as early as Sunday and a
court could decide Monday whether to issue it. It could accuse Han of violating
tough national security laws the South maintains because it believes the North
poses a threat despite a decade of reconciliation.
The
security laws prohibit South Koreans from joining pro-North Korean
organizations or having unauthorized contact with the North. They also ban
citizens from supporting or praising the North. A separate law also bars its
citizens from visiting North Korea without government permission.
Han could
face up to seven years in prison if convicted, police said.
During
his trip, Han blamed Seoul for the sinking the Cheonan warship in March and
accused South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of raising tension with North
Korea by discarding rapprochement accords and staging military exercises with
the United States.
In May,
an international team of investigators concluded that the North sank the ship
with a torpedo, killing 46 South Korean sailors. North Korea denied
involvement, and has issued a series of threats to South Korea over the
military drills.
