North Korean defectors and South Korean activists prepare to launch ten helium balloons carrying leaflets criticizing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during a rally at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, in Paju, denouncing the country's third nuclear test, in this Feb. 16, 2013 file photo. AP

Nearly 30 human rights groups here filed a constitutional complaint Tuesday over a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into North Korea and requested an injunction against the law.

The organizations, including the Transitional Justice Working Group and Keunsaem led by North Korean defectors, claimed that the leafleting ban infringes on the human rights of North Koreans and supports the autocratic regime in Pyongyang.

"By using the safety of people in border regions as an excuse, they are giving up on the human rights of North Korean people who are thirsty for outside information, while supporting the autocratic regime," the human rights groups told reporters.

The National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), recently passed the bill penalizing the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North despite strong objections by opposition party lawmakers.

Supporters claim the ban is to protect the safety of citizens in border regions from which leaflet-carrying balloons have been sent into the North, while critics say that it violates the right to freedom of expression and blocks outside information from people in the reclusive state.

The government and the ruling party sought to ban leaflet campaigns after North Korea bristled at such activity and even demolished an inter-Korean liaison office in June as a protest. Pyongyang has denounced the leafleting as a violation of inter-Korean agreements and demanded that Seoul take preventive measures.

The unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said that freedom of expression cannot take precedence over the life and safety of people in border regions. (Yonhap)