Anti-NK leaflets escalate division

Border town residents and liberals, left, try to block an anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign by North Korean defectors and conservative activists at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, near the Demilitarized Zone dividing South and North Korea, Saturday. / Yonhap

North Korea shot down leaflet balloons that Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK), an activist group led by Park Sang-hak, released across the border on Oct. 10. The two Koreas then exchanged machine gun fire.

This meant that recent signs of reconciliation between Seoul and Pyongyang were discarded and the two sides went back to confrontation mode. The North has criticized the South’s negligence over the propaganda leaflets, and threatened to reconsider the second round of high-level talks.

The launch of the balloons filled with leaflets urging North Korean people to revolt against Kim Jong-un resulted in another clash on Saturday that consequently pitted border residents against North Korea defectors, and has emerged as a hot-button issue in inter-Korean relations.

‘Propaganda stunt frays S-N relations’

By Kang Seung-woo

Cheong Seong-chang Senior fellow at the Sejong Institute

Anti-North Korea leaflets are seen as the most effective option to end the decades-long totalitarian regime in Pyongyang by North Korean defectors-turned-activists.

But Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute, believes that the campaign will fall short of a rebellion against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un given the current situation facing citizens there.

“It is impossible for people in the North to cause an uprising because they are completely kept in check,” Cheong told The Korea Times.

“In addition, the North’s citizens are not familiar with the concepts of democracy and freedom, so instigating those who are not prepared for a revolt is a radical call.”

According to Bloomberg, one leaflet found in Saturday’s clash between border town residents and activists showed Saddam Hussein with a noose around his neck

and the corpse of Muammar Qaddafi, urging North Koreans to “topple evil Kim Jong-un and shoot him to death.”

The long-time North Korea expert said that the activists should alter their way of “enlightening” North Koreans who have been brainwashed by the regime if they really want to change the reclusive state.

“The leaflet campaign is not the lone means to guarantee the right to know of North Korean people, so the activists should look for another option compatible with the government’s North Korea policy and national security rather than just sticking with the ‘selfish’ activity,” he said.

Due to the leaflet launch, the North has continued to criticize the South, possibly jeopardizing the second round of high-level talks.

“The government needs to engage in negotiations to put the meeting through, but the leaflets are a stumbling block on the way to high-level talks,” he said.

With the campaign worsening the inter-Korean relations, however, the Seoul government remains tepid on controlling the leaflets, just reiterating that it is unable

to control the civilian campaign without proper legal grounds.

Cheong warned that another balloon launch-induced skirmish may bring about an irreversible consequence between South and North Korea.

“Should the North fire at civilian areas in the South and both Koreas engage in a larger-scale conflict, it would not be easy for President Park Geun-hye to push

for her trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

“The government should devise a system to control the movement near the border rather than neglecting it in order to prevent inter-Korean relations from further

souring.”

In the wake of the North’s attack on the “much-publicized” balloon launch, there are some calls for the event to take place in a low-key manner.

“Whether to make the launch public or not makes no difference because although leaflets are sent secretly, the North can shoot them down and it can also escalate

into a large-scale conflict,” Cheong said.

He said that it will be a more reasonable approach to reach an agreement inside the nation on the leaflet launch and bring North Korea to dialogue rather than just ignoring the North’s calls.

‘Leaflet drive will pay off eventually’

Park Sang-hak Founder of Fighters for Free North Korea

Amid growing flak over his anti-North Korea leaflet campaign, Park Sang-hak, 46, a North Korean defector who has often organized the event, believes the campaign will eventually gain recognition from critics as well as the public.

“Worsening public opinion over the flying of leaflets is what Kim Jong-un intended. By evoking fear over an armed clash on the Korean Peninsula, the North is spurring a domestic conflict in the South to exploit a split in Seoul’s North Korean policy,” Park, founder of Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK), told The Korea Times.

“Border town residents are concerned about losing the peace, but taking a closer look, there are pro-North Korea groups, including Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea behind the residents that stay mum on the North’s provocations.”

Park, the son of a former North Korean spy, defected to South Korea with his family in 1999 at his father’s urging, and has spent 10 years trying to stop the family dictatorship in the North with his leaflet campaign.

“I intend to help people in North Korea grasp the truth through the leaflets,” Park said, adding that the North describes the South as a “living hell.”

“I cannot tell the effects of the leaflet launches myself, but look at how intensely North Korea responds to them.

“What the lying hypocrites (the North Korean regime) are most afraid of is that the truth about the South is uncovered.”

According to Park, there are two or three groups of North Korea defectors including FFNK that send helium balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets - these events are sponsored by ordinary people - about 90 percent of them South Korean. For the past 10 years, some 76,000 people have sponsored his campaign.

“Their contributions range from 1,000 won to 10 million won ($1 to $9,500), but small cash donations form a large majority,” Park said.

There has been no financial support from the government or major companies, however, although he has tried to get assistance from them.

A recent public poll by Gallup Korea showed 58 percent of 1,021 respondents were opposed to the leaflet campaign, with 32 percent agreeing.

Despite the outcry, Park still buys into the idea that the propaganda balloons is the best tool to encourage North Korean citizens to revolt against its “supreme leader.”

“Some 70 North Korea defectors have called me this year and said the leaflets had greatly affected North Korean citizens,” he said.

“Those disagreeing with the leaflets, need to listen to what defectors say about them. Although people here oppose the campaign, it is the only vehicle to let North Koreans know the truth. So, I plan to continue this job.”

He also asked southerners to fully understand what his movement is about.

“Should we back down for fear of the North’s threats, we would have to continuously surrender to them,” Park said.

“Only time will tell if we should compromise.”