S.Korean Pastor Faces Arrest on Return from North

An arrest warrant is out for a leftwing pastor on charges of violating the decades-old National Security Law with an unauthorized visit to North Korea, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors plan to arrest the Rev. Han Sang-ryeol as soon as he returns.

Han is accused of traveling to North Korea through the North Korean Embassy in Beijing on June 12, despite the fact that the South Korean Unification Ministry refused to permit the visit.

He could be charged under the Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation Law and with "supporting the North Korean regime" during a stay in North Korea of nearly two months.

He is expected to return to Seoul on Aug. 15 through the truce village of Panmunjom.