North Korea criticised South Korea on Wednesday for revoking a law that banned private activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to the North, calling it “unconstitutional.”
North’s Warning
In a statement published by state mouthpiece the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday, North Korean commentator Kim Yun Mi said that the scattering of leaflets against the North is “a high-level psychological warfare” and “a preemptive attack conducted before the start of war.”
Kim noted that “the situation” is getting “ever more serious,” as it coincides with the time that the US has been deploying nuclear strategic assets and is staging the “largest-ever war drills” against the North.
“It is the stand of the enraged revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK to pour a shower of shells into the bulwark of the region of South Korean puppets as well as the base of leaflet-scattering by surpassing the previous counteraction,” the statement threatened.
The South Korean move comes soon after the North has “reached the highest pitch of anger” as it “suffered a great upheaval” for the first time since its foundation due to the “malignant” COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korea criticized rival South Korea for removing a law banning activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to the North, insisting that such activities are psychological warfare and threatening to respond with a “shower of shells.” https://t.co/AeuaVVgNX8
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Referring to the North by its official name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — Kim reminded Seoul that the scattering of anti-DPRK leaflets had “resulted in a clash of arms in 2014 and a total destruction of the North-South joint liaison office in 2020.”
He added that, so far, Pyongyang had “patience” with the South’s “mischief,” as it had banned the scattering by law.
Against this backdrop, Kim warned that “a spark may lead to explosion,” as the “hostile psychological warfare malignantly [hurts] the existence and development of the DPRK.”
“There is no guarantee that such military conflicts as in Europe and the Middle East would not break out on the Korean peninsula,” he underscored.
He also stated that the US and its “puppet group of traitors” would be held “totally responsible for consequences to be entailed” by such moves.
Ruling on Leaflet Distribution Law
South Korea revoked the prohibition on distributing leaflets against the North following complaints filed by North Korean defector-activists in the South.
These activists included Park Sang-hak, a frequent target of Pyongyang’s anger for his longstanding campaign of flying leaflets across the border with giant balloons.
Park, along with other North Korean defector-activists, have been using huge helium-filled balloons for years to drop leaflets criticising the leadership of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his nuclear weapons ambitions, and the country’s dismal human rights record over the secretive country.
Often, the packages include US dollar bills and USB sticks containing information about world news.