hankyoreh

North Korea is angry over leaflets being dropped over its territory by private South Korean groups using massive helium balloons.

At talks between military officials from both sides on October 27, North Korean officials once again demanded that Seoul make it stop raining leaflets that are usually strongly against the government there, calling the actions of private groups a “severe matter.”

“As was the case at working-level military talks on October 2, the Northerners said that if the sprinkling of leaflets continues it could negatively influence the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex project and the industrial complex itself,” said Lee Sang-chul of the Ministry of National Defense’s North Korean policy desk. “They said Southern personnel would be unable to pass over the Military Demarcation Line and it cold become impossible for Southern personnel to stay in Gaeseong or the Mount Geumgang (Kumgang) Tourism Zone.”

In response, South Korean military officials conveyed that they are consistently working to ask private groups to refrain from sending the fliers into North Korea, despite genuine difficulties in getting them to stop.

Other topics of discussion included a communications link between the two militaries.

The Northern delegation to the talks said there needs to be “urgent action” to repair the communications link because construction will become more difficult when the ground freezes in winter. It also asked for the South to quickly provide the necessary material and equipment for the communications link.

In related news, Seoul’s Unification Ministry revealed that North Korea has been censoring South Korean newspapers delivered to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex Management Committee, deleting some of their contents. The action is similar to their reaction to
the leaflets, which suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been in poor health.

North Korea allows the Gaeseong Industrial Complex Management Committee, which manages the industrial complex there, to receive twenty copies of nine different South Korean newspapers. Most of the committee members are South Korean citizens working in Gaeseong.

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