South Korea's prime minister said Wednesday that the controversial civic campaign to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist country is improper if it is carried out in a showy manner.
  

Local right-wing activists often launch such campaigns after publicly announcing their plans beforehand, sparking a furious reaction and sometimes military counteraction from North Korea.
  

The leaflet campaign was one of the main reasons cited by the North in deferring its official reaction to Seoul's offer to hold high-level inter-Korean talks. The North has so far neither accepted nor rejected the proposal Seoul issued in late December.
  

"Spreading (of leaflets) is in the sphere of the right to free expression per se, but it is not proper to do it openly and as if to show off," Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo said in an interpellation session.
  

The government is "taking this issue seriously," Lee said, adding that he will come up with ways to address the issue.
  

Opposition lawmakers and residents of the border towns where the campaigns are launched have strongly called on the government to stop the leaflet scattering, citing the safety and military risks it could bring.
  

The government has, however, been inactive in taking action against the campaigns, repeating its stance that basically it is something that the civic sector should decide for themselves.
  

Earlier in the session, the new prime minister also vowed his utmost efforts in pursuing his duty as the country's second-highest official. It was Lee's first appearance in an interpellation session since being sworn into office earlier in the month.
  

"I am feeling a heavy sense of duty and responsibility," the prime minister said in his opening remarks.
  

"Above all, I will put all of my efforts in reforming every sector and the top priority will be put on reviving the economy," Lee said, also vowing smoother communication with citizens. (Yonhap)