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South Korea's Balloon Crackdown Hits Anti-North Korea Activists
South Korea's Balloon Crackdown Hits Anti-North Korea Activists

NDTV

time07-07-2025

  • Politics
  • NDTV

South Korea's Balloon Crackdown Hits Anti-North Korea Activists

Pocheon: The equipment activist Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons laden with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea unto the North has been gathering dust and cobwebs for months. When it became clear that centre-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June presidential election, Lee Min-bok was among several South Korea-based activists who stopped their missions, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration. Lee Jae Myung, a former human rights lawyer, is pushing to ease tensions with Pyongyang and last month said activists should be "severely punished" if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea. "I've been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way," 67-year-old Lee Min-bok told Reuters as he stood next to a rusting truck equipped with a hydrogen tank for filling balloons. "But realistically, look how serious it is right now. Police are out there and if I move, everything will be reported." For years, police have monitored Lee from the home next door - one plainclothes officer told Reuters they are there to protect him from potential North Korean threats - but instead of checking weather reports for ideal balloon launching conditions, Lee now spends his days writing online posts criticising the South Korean government. Calls to activists The activists, many of whom are North Korean defectors like Lee, are used to being at the centre of geopolitical tensions. An attempt by a previous liberal president to ban the balloon launches was struck down as unconstitutional. And last year, North Korea began launching waves of its own balloons into the South, some carrying garbage and excrement. Lee, who took office on June 4, has promised to improve relations with the nuclear-armed North, saying tensions with Pyongyang have had a real negative economic impact. He has urged diplomacy and dialogue and his administration has also suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, last year abandoned a goal of unification with the South and has shown little openness to diplomacy. After Lee ordered measures to stop leaflet launches, officials and police discussed plans including deploying police to border regions to preempt launches, and punishing the activists by using regulations such as aviation safety laws, according to the Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs. Several groups in the South regularly send balloons to the North carrying leaflets, bibles, food, money, and various media. In the past year, police have investigated about 72 cases of anti-North leaflet activities and sent 13 to prosecutors, another police official said. They are still looking into 23 cases, the official added. Police are also investigating six Americans who attempted to deliver around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes and Bibles to North Korea. "Fear is spreading. The mood is bloody intense," said another North Korean defector-turned-activist who had secretly flown balloons once or twice a month for more than a decade. The activist said he had paused the launches this spring when polls showed Lee was likely to win the election. "I get calls from the government recently that apparently want to check in, to see whether I am going to send the balloons or not," said the Seoul-based activist, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. Choi Sung-yong, leader of the Abductees' Family Union who works to bring home South Koreans abducted by North Korea, said his group had decided to suspend the balloon launches after receiving calls from new government officials. Chung Dong-young, the Unification Minister nominee, said last month he rang Choi and thanked him for reconsidering the balloon launches which Chung described "a catalyst to confrontation and hostilities" between the two Koreas. 'Right balance' North Korean officials have labeled leaflet activists in South Korea "human scum" and in 2020 demolished an inter-Korean liaison office during a spat over leaflets. In 2022, they claimed the balloons could carry the coronavirus. The Lee administration's moves have been welcomed by some residents who have said the launches put them at risk. "I feel much more comfortable and hopeful... People couldn't sleep," said Park Hae-yeon, 65, a farmer in Paju whose family runs a restaurant near the border. "Now I am hearing leaflets not being distributed, I see a sign of hope." James Heenan, who represents the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, told Reuters that leaflet operations are a matter of free expression that need to be balanced with legitimate national security concerns. "We hope the right balance will be struck," he said, noting that previous punishments were overly harsh.

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists
South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

Straits Times

time07-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Straits Times

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that activists should be 'severely punished' if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea. POCHEON - The equipment activist Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons laden with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea onto the North has been gathering dust and cobwebs for months. When it became clear that centre-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June 2025 presidential election, Mr L ee Min-bok was among several South Korea-based activists who stopped their missions, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration. Mr Lee Jae Myung, a former human rights lawyer, is pushing to ease tensions with Pyongyang and said in June that activists should be 'severely punished' if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea. 'I've been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way,' 67-year-old Mr Lee Min-bok told Reuters as he stood next to a rusting truck equipped with a hydrogen tank for filling balloons. 'But realistically, look how serious it is right now. Police are out there and if I move, everything will be reported.' For years, the police have monitored Mr Lee from the home next door - one plainclothes officer told Reuters they are there to protect him from potential North Korean threats - but instead of checking weather reports for ideal balloon launching conditions, Mr Lee now spends his days writing online posts criticising the South Korean government. Calls to activists The activists, many of whom are North Korean defectors like Mr Lee, are used to being at the centre of geopolitical tensions. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements by April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian Erin Patterson found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 An attempt by a previous liberal president to ban the balloon launches was struck down as unconstitutional. In 2024, North Korea began launching waves of its own balloons into the South, some carrying garbage and excrement. Mr Lee, who took office on June 4, has promised to improve relations with the nuclear-armed North, saying tensions with Pyongyang have had a real negative economic impact. He has urged diplomacy and dialogue and his administration has also suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, abandoned a goal of unification with the South in 2024 and has shown little openness to diplomacy. After Mr Lee ordered measures to stop leaflet launches, officials and the police discussed plans including deploying police to border regions to preempt launches, and punishing the activists by using regulations such as aviation safety laws, according to the Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs. Several groups in the South regularly send balloons to the North carrying leaflets, bibles, food, money, and various media. In 2024, police have investigated about 72 cases of anti-North leaflet activities and sent 13 to prosecutors, another police official said. They are still looking into 23 cases, the official added. The police are also investigating six Americans who attempted to deliver around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes and Bibles to North Korea. 'Fear is spreading. The mood is bloody intense,' said another North Korean defector-turned-activist who had secretly flown balloons once or twice a month for more than a decade. The activist said he had paused the launches this spring when polls showed Mr Lee was likely to win the election. 'I get calls from the government recently that apparently want to check in, to see whether I am going to send the balloons or not,' said the Seoul-based activist, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. Mr Choi Sung-yong, leader of the Abductees' Family Union who works to bring home South Koreans abducted by North Korea, said his group had decided to suspend the balloon launches after receiving calls from new government officials. Mr Chung Dong-young, the Unification Minister nominee, said he rang Mr Choi in June and thanked him for reconsidering the balloon launches which Mr Chung described "a catalyst to confrontation and hostilities" between the two Koreas. 'Right Balance' North Korean officials have labelled leaflet activists in South Korea 'human scum' and in 2020 demolished an inter-Korean liaison office during a spat over leaflets. In 2022, they claimed the balloons could carry the coronavirus. The Lee administration's moves have been welcomed by some residents who have said the launches put them at risk. 'I feel much more comfortable and hopeful… People couldn't sleep,' said Mr Park Hae-yeon, 65, a farmer in Paju whose family runs a restaurant near the border. 'Now I am hearing leaflets not being distributed, I see a sign of hope.' Mr James Heenan, who represents the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, told Reuters that leaflet operations are a matter of free expression that need to be balanced with legitimate national security concerns. 'We hope the right balance will be struck,' he said, noting that previous punishments were overly harsh. REUTERS

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists
South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

The Sun

time07-07-2025

  • Politics
  • The Sun

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

POCHEON: The equipment activist Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons laden with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea unto the North has been gathering dust and cobwebs for months. When it became clear that centre-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June presidential election, Lee Min-bok was among several South Korea-based activists who stopped their missions, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration. Lee Jae Myung, a former human rights lawyer, is pushing to ease tensions with Pyongyang and last month said activists should be 'severely punished' if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea. 'I've been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way,' 67-year-old Lee Min-bok told Reuters as he stood next to a rusting truck equipped with a hydrogen tank for filling balloons. 'But realistically, look how serious it is right now. Police are out there and if I move, everything will be reported.' For years, police have monitored Lee from the home next door - one plainclothes officer told Reuters they are there to protect him from potential North Korean threats - but instead of checking weather reports for ideal balloon launching conditions, Lee now spends his days writing online posts criticising the South Korean government. CALLS TO ACTIVISTS The activists, many of whom are North Korean defectors like Lee, are used to being at the centre of geopolitical tensions. An attempt by a previous liberal president to ban the balloon launches was struck down as unconstitutional. And last year, North Korea began launching waves of its own balloons into the South, some carrying garbage and excrement. Lee, who took office on June 4, has promised to improve relations with the nuclear-armed North, saying tensions with Pyongyang have had a real negative economic impact. He has urged diplomacy and dialogue and his administration has also suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, last year abandoned a goal of unification with the South and has shown little openness to diplomacy. After Lee ordered measures to stop leaflet launches, officials and police discussed plans including deploying police to border regions to preempt launches, and punishing the activists by using regulations such as aviation safety laws, according to the Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs. Several groups in the South regularly send balloons to the North carrying leaflets, bibles, food, money, and various media. In the past year, police have investigated about 72 cases of anti-North leaflet activities and sent 13 to prosecutors, another police official said. They are still looking into 23 cases, the official added. Police are also investigating six Americans who attempted to deliver around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes and Bibles to North Korea. 'Fear is spreading. The mood is bloody intense,' said another North Korean defector-turned-activist who had secretly flown balloons once or twice a month for more than a decade. The activist said he had paused the launches this spring when polls showed Lee was likely to win the election. 'I get calls from the government recently that apparently want to check in, to see whether I am going to send the balloons or not,' said the Seoul-based activist, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. Choi Sung-yong, leader of the Abductees' Family Union who works to bring home South Koreans abducted by North Korea, said his group had decided to suspend the balloon launches after receiving calls from new government officials. Chung Dong-young, the Unification Minister nominee, said last month he rang Choi and thanked him for reconsidering the balloon launches which Chung described 'a catalyst to confrontation and hostilities' between the two Koreas. 'RIGHT BALANCE' North Korean officials have labeled leaflet activists in South Korea 'human scum' and in 2020 demolished an inter-Korean liaison office during a spat over leaflets. In 2022, they claimed the balloons could carry the coronavirus. The Lee administration's moves have been welcomed by some residents who have said the launches put them at risk. 'I feel much more comfortable and hopeful... People couldn't sleep,' said Park Hae-yeon, 65, a farmer in Paju whose family runs a restaurant near the border. 'Now I am hearing leaflets not being distributed, I see a sign of hope.' James Heenan, who represents the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, told Reuters that leaflet operations are a matter of free expression that need to be balanced with legitimate national security concerns. 'We hope the right balance will be struck,' he said, noting that previous punishments were overly harsh.

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists
South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

The Star

time07-07-2025

  • Politics
  • The Star

South Korea's balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

POCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) -The equipment activist Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons laden with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea unto the North has been gathering dust and cobwebs for months. When it became clear that centre-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June presidential election, Lee Min-bok was among several South Korea-based activists who stopped their missions, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration. Lee Jae Myung, a former human rights lawyer, is pushing to ease tensions with Pyongyang and last month said activists should be "severely punished" if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea. "I've been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way," 67-year-old Lee Min-bok told Reuters as he stood next to a rusting truck equipped with a hydrogen tank for filling balloons. "But realistically, look how serious it is right now. Police are out there and if I move, everything will be reported." For years, police have monitored Lee from the home next door - one plainclothes officer told Reuters they are there to protect him from potential North Korean threats - but instead of checking weather reports for ideal balloon launching conditions, Lee now spends his days writing online posts criticising the South Korean government. CALLS TO ACTIVISTS The activists, many of whom are North Korean defectors like Lee, are used to being at the centre of geopolitical tensions. An attempt by a previous liberal president to ban the balloon launches was struck down as unconstitutional. And last year, North Korea began launching waves of its own balloons into the South, some carrying garbage and excrement. Lee, who took office on June 4, has promised to improve relations with the nuclear-armed North, saying tensions with Pyongyang have had a real negative economic impact. He has urged diplomacy and dialogue and his administration has also suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, last year abandoned a goal of unification with the South and has shown little openness to diplomacy. After Lee ordered measures to stop leaflet launches, officials and police discussed plans including deploying police to border regions to preempt launches, and punishing the activists by using regulations such as aviation safety laws, according to the Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs. Several groups in the South regularly send balloons to the North carrying leaflets, bibles, food, money, and various media. In the past year, police have investigated about 72 cases of anti-North leaflet activities and sent 13 to prosecutors, another police official said. They are still looking into 23 cases, the official added. Police are also investigating six Americans who attempted to deliver around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes and Bibles to North Korea. "Fear is spreading. The mood is bloody intense," said another North Korean defector-turned-activist who had secretly flown balloons once or twice a month for more than a decade. The activist said he had paused the launches this spring when polls showed Lee was likely to win the election. "I get calls from the government recently that apparently want to check in, to see whether I am going to send the balloons or not," said the Seoul-based activist, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. Choi Sung-yong, leader of the Abductees' Family Union who works to bring home South Koreans abducted by North Korea, said his group had decided to suspend the balloon launches after receiving calls from new government officials. Chung Dong-young, the Unification Minister nominee, said last month he rang Choi and thanked him for reconsidering the balloon launches which Chung described "a catalyst to confrontation and hostilities" between the two Koreas. 'RIGHT BALANCE' North Korean officials have labeled leaflet activists in South Korea "human scum" and in 2020 demolished an inter-Korean liaison office during a spat over leaflets. In 2022, they claimed the balloons could carry the coronavirus. The Lee administration's moves have been welcomed by some residents who have said the launches put them at risk. "I feel much more comfortable and hopeful… People couldn't sleep," said Park Hae-yeon, 65, a farmer in Paju whose family runs a restaurant near the border. "Now I am hearing leaflets not being distributed, I see a sign of hope." James Heenan, who represents the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, told Reuters that leaflet operations are a matter of free expression that need to be balanced with legitimate national security concerns. "We hope the right balance will be struck," he said, noting that previous punishments were overly harsh. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Josh Smith and Lincoln Feast.)

Noise detente on Korean peninsula as eerie broadcasts end
Noise detente on Korean peninsula as eerie broadcasts end

The Sun

time12-06-2025

  • Politics
  • The Sun

Noise detente on Korean peninsula as eerie broadcasts end

SEOUL: North Korea appears to have stopped broadcasting strange and unsettling noises along the border, Seoul's military said Thursday, a day after South Korea ceased blaring its own loudspeaker propaganda northwards. The North has been broadcasting a horror movie-esque soundtrack into border areas since last year, as part of an escalating propaganda war between the arch foes. But South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung, who took office last week after his predecessor was impeached over an abortive martial law declaration, ordered the military to stop blasting K-pop and news reports into the North in a bid to 'restore trust'. 'Today, there was no region where North Korea's noise broadcasts to the South were heard,' Seoul's military said in a statement Thursday. 'The military is closely monitoring related trends in North Korea.' Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with Seoul taking a hard line towards Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But South Korea's new president has vowed to improve relations with the North and reduce tensions on the peninsula, halting the loudspeaker broadcasts Seoul had begun last year in response to a barrage of trash-filled balloons flown southward by Pyongyang. The North claimed the balloons -- which contained toilet paper and other garbage -- were retaliation for similar missives floated northwards by activists in the South, carrying anti-Kim Jong Un propaganda. North Korea resumed its own propaganda broadcasts soon after, sending strange and eerie noises -- such as chilling music and what sounds like bombs exploding -- into the South, prompting complaints from border residents. On Ganghwa island, which is close to the North, the strange noises were last heard Wednesday at around 6:00 pm (0900 GMT), its county councillor Park Heung-yeol told AFP. 'And from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm yesterday, the North broadcast its propaganda music, instead of the strange noise,' he added. 'I slept so well last night. I had not been able to do that for so long,' another Ganghwa resident An Mi-hee told AFP. 'Cost of their blood' South Korea's Unification Ministry, which oversees contact with the North, said Pyongyang's apparent move to end the noise broadcasts 'helped relieve the suffering of residents in (South Korea's) border areas'. It 'has become a meaningful opportunity to ease inter-Korean military tensions and restore mutual trust,' a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, told AFP that the moves were 'an encouraging development.' 'North Korea's halt of its noise broadcasts sends a positive signal to the South,' he said. 'Given the current approach of the new government, a fragile but meaningful peace is likely to hold -- at least for now. There is reason to hope for an improvement in inter-Korean relations,' Lim added. South Korea's Lee has promised a more dovish approach towards Pyongyang, compared with his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol. On the campaign trail, Lee accused Yoon of deliberately provoking the North to justify his martial law bid in December -- prompting backlash from conservatives. The nuclear-armed North has recently bolstered military ties with Russia, sending at least 14,000 troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. On Thursday, North Korean state media quoted leader Kim as saying that ties between the North and Russia have developed into an 'indestructible, genuine' relationship. In a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day, Kim said the allies' improved ties were 'thanks to... the cost of their blood in the just sacred war to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia.' The two Koreas technically remain at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

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