Civic group sends anti-Pyongyang propaganda material to N. Korea via balloons

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Mon, October 2, 2023 | 19:38

Defense

Civic group sends anti-Pyongyang propaganda material to N. Korea via balloons

Posted : 2023-05-08 11:30

Updated : 2023-05-09 08:28

A placard condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is attached to one of the balloons the anti-Pyongyang group sent to North Korea last week, in this May 8 photo provided by Fighters for a Free North Korea. Yonhap

A North Korean defectors' group said Monday it has flown giant balloons carrying medicine and anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea across the western inter-Korean border last week.

Park Sang-hak, head of the Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK), told Yonhap News Agency that the organization sent 20 balloons carrying vitamin C tablets, Tylenol pills and booklets to the North on Friday from Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul.

According to Park, placards denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations were attached to the balloons. The FFNK previously sent eight balloons carrying similar goods about eight months ago.

Such acts are banned in South Korea under a law that was legislated to help reduce tensions in the border regions, as North Korea has bristled strongly against such balloons and even threatened to shoot them down.

Violators are subject to a maximum prison term of three years or a fine of 30 million won ($22,636).

In response, the unification ministry reaffirmed the government's call against such acts.

"There is no change in the government's stance that the distribution of leaflets should be refrained in consideration of factors including sensitive inter-Korean circumstances and concerns of border area residents," Koo Byoung-sam, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.

In 2020, the ministry revoked the operation permit for the FFNK, citing concerns over the safety of border town residents and tension on the Korean peninsula.

The group filed a complaint protesting the decision, in which the Supreme Court ordered a lower court to review the legality of the revocation in a ruling last month. (Yonhap)

Top 5 Entertainment News

1	M+ deputy director discusses Seoul's potential to challenge Hong Kong as Asia's art hub

2	INTERVIEWAhn Hyo-seop wanted to share dedicated love with 'A Time Called You'

3	'Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman' tops Chuseok holiday box office

4	INTERVIEW'Coexistence of different art hubs across Asia is necessary': Art Week Tokyo Director

5	Trailblazing nonagenarian artist honored for redefining Korean fiber art

DARKROOM