Activists release balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets from South Korea to North Korea (Photo: Reuters).
North Korean state media on November 9 criticized a South Korean court's repeal of a law banning activists from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, warning of the risk of military clashes similar to those in the Middle East and Europe.
The move by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) appears to reflect Pyongyang's growing concerns that the South Korean government will use psychological warfare tactics on the border between the two countries, according to observers.
Previously, the South Korean Constitutional Court struck down a 2020 law banning cross-border leaflet campaigns between North and South Korea, saying the law was unconstitutional and restricted freedom of speech.
The move has paved the way for activists in South Korea to continue sending leaflets across the border without facing three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won ($22,830).
South Korean activists have increasingly come up with different ways to distribute leaflets, including using “smart balloons” that can fly across the border and drop anti-North Korean propaganda at different intervals in different areas, making it difficult for North Korea to respond in a timely manner.
KCNA warned on November 9 that North Korea would regard the leaflet distribution as "a preemptive strike carried out before the start of hostilities."
"Under the current situation, a spark may lead to an explosion, and there is no guarantee that military conflicts like those in Europe and the Middle East will not break out on the Korean peninsula," KCNA said.
KCNA warned that future leaflet campaigns from South Korea could face an unprecedented response from the North Korean military. Pyongyang said it could fire artillery shells at the leafleting sites.
An official North Korean document issued in May said Pyongyang banned citizens from touching such leaflets and accused the South Korean side of sending objects that "pose a risk of transmitting the Covid-19 virus."
In October 2014, Pyongyang used machine guns to shoot down balloons carrying leaflets from South Korea, and Seoul returned fire across the border. No one was injured in the incident, which came after some of the North Korean projectiles crossed the border.
In 2020, North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong to protest leaflets being sent from South Korea. That same year, South Korea passed a law banning leaflets from being sent to North Korea after Pyongyang threatened to scrap a military agreement between the two Koreas.
Inter-Korean relations have become tense since the second US-North Korea summit in early 2019 ended without the expected results.
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