Pro-North Korea activists in South threaten defector Thae Yong-ho

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A radical group of pro-North Korea activists disrupted business at a media office in Seoul that specializes in creating content on North Korea and runs Daily NK, the news service that brings information out of the Kim Jong Un regime.

Members of the "Baekdu Guard," or Baekdu Protection Squad, a new South Korean organization that says it supports Kim and condemns the United Nations, demanded high-profile defector Thae Yong-ho take down his regular column on the North Korean regime, local paper Chosun Ilbo reported Friday.

A source at the Unification Media Group, the parent company of Daily NK, told the Chosun the activists arrived near the office and condemned Thae. They arrived on site wearing dark sunglasses -- possibly to protect their identity.

UMG sources later told UPI the staff "invited the protestors in for a chat after their unexpected visit, which was not violent or overtly threatening in nature."

The activists appeared to be targeting Thae, a former North Korean diplomat who defected from London in 2016.

"Members of the Baekdu Guard said Thae is interfering with the peace that is emerging between North and South," the Chosun's source said.

The Chosun's source also said the activists "argued there is a limit to press freedoms" and that the United Nations cannot be trusted.

The U.N.'s human rights committee recently passed a resolution condemning North Korea human rights violations.

"We just could not get through to them," the media group's source added.

Ahead of their unannounced visit, Baekdu Guard activists reportedly sent a large volume of intimidating emails, warning Thae he will soon meet his "end" as a traitor.

The group was formed on Nov. 21, according to the Chosun. On their Facebook page on Thursday, the activists published some of the emails they sent to Thae, telling him, to "stay silent, this is the last warning."

Social media photos show men and women members, who appear to be in their 20s and 30s, wearing dark sunglasses.

Their attacks on press freedoms come at a time when engagement moves forward between North and South.

Local television network JTBC reported Friday a team of South Korean railroad inspectors left from Dorasan Station, crossing the demilitarized zone to begin surveys of North Korea's train tracks.

The plan is for the team to inspect about 37 miles of track per day, according to the report.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the activists "raided" the Unification Media Group office. They arrived at the location initially uninvited, according to UMG.