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Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
No more anti-Pyongyang leaflets, abductee family group announces
Group representing the families of abductees held in North Korea asks government to address the issue A civic group representing the families of those abducted by North Korea announced Tuesday it will no longer send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border, after the South Korean government requested that it discontinue the campaign. Choi Seong-ryong, who heads the group, said the members will "trust the government and stop sending the leaflets," at a press conference held at Imjingak in Paju, about 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul. He expressed hope that President Lee Jae Myung will approach the issue of North Korean abductions through active conversation with the families. The abductee families' group had a phone conversation with Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung on June 23, during which Kim expressed the government's sympathy with their troubles and requested that they suspend the leaflet campaign. According to the Unification Ministry, Kim also pledged that the government will listen to the abductee families' opinions on the matter. A day after the conversation, Choi's group expressed its intent to no longer send the leaflets. It also called on other civic groups to do the same. Since the Moon Jae-in administration agreed to turn off loudspeakers broadcasting anti-regime propaganda at the border in 2018, leaflet campaigns have been a main method used by civic groups to disseminate propaganda against Pyongyang and expose North Koreans to the realities of the outside world. The loudspeaker broadcasts resumed in 2024 at the height of inter-Korean tensions, but were discontinued last month shortly after President Lee took office. The leaflet campaigns, however, have been a hotly debated topic in South Korea. While South Koreans denounce the North's continued disregard for human rights and its nuclear programs, many members of the public believe that the leaflets do more harm than good by raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In 2020, North Korea cut off communications with the South after criticizing the leaflets. In a survey conducted by local broadcaster KBS in June of that year, 60.6 percent of respondents said the civic groups should stop flying the leaflets. Another survey by pollster Real Meter in the same month showed that 50 percent of respondents thought sending the anti-Pyongyang leaflets should be made illegal, while 41.1 percent opposed the idea of banning it by law.
Korea Herald
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Abductee family group to consider not sending leaflets to N. Korea
A South Korean civic group representing families of abductees held in North Korea said Tuesday it will consider suspending the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Choi Seong-ryong, the head of the group, said he received a positive message by phone from a high-ranking government official on Monday and will later decide whether to stop sending leaflets to North Korea after discussions with group members. The remarks came after Choi told reporters a week ago that his group is willing to halt the leaflet distribution if President Lee Jae Myung helps confirm the life or death of abductees through dialogue with the North and meets and comforts families of the abductees, particularly those in their 90s. This year, Choi's group sent anti-North Korean leaflets across the border by balloons or drones from Imjingak in Paju on April 27, from Cheorwon in Gangwon Province on May 8 and from a border area in Paju on June 2. But the Lee government has said it will consider revising the relevant laws and take steps to block the distribution of anti-North leaflets from the border areas. "The current government officials understand the abduction issue better than anyone else and they have helped us a lot in the past. I hope this government will definitely create an opportunity to confirm the life or death of the abduction victims through inter-Korean dialogue," said Choi in a meeting with reporters after paying his respects at the Belgium-Luxembourg War Memorial in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War. Choi's father was kidnapped in 1967 while fishing near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea and executed in North Korea in 1972 due to his history of cooperating with the US military during the Korean War. (Yonhap)
