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Residents of villages in the Civilian Control Zone hung up five banners on Unification Bridge and at the entrance to Unification Village – known as Tongil Village in Korean – denouncing the balloon launches. (provided by Unification Village)

Gyeonggi Province said Sunday that it would “mobilize all available resources to block the illegal launch of balloons filled with propaganda leaflets into North Korea.”

The province said that the lives and safety of residents on the border with North Korea have been endangered by recent attempts by some defector groups to launch the propaganda balloons.

Along with the province’s plans to crack down on the balloon launches, Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Jae-gang will be holding a video meeting Monday with deputy mayors in border areas where balloons are likely to be launched – Pocheon, Yeoncheon, Paju, Gohang and Gimpo – to hear about the situation in each region and to organize cooperative action on the balloons with those five cities and counties.

Gyeonggi Province also plans to dispatch a task force to border areas to strengthen monitoring of potential balloon launches. On Friday, Lee visited police stations in parts of Paju near the border for emergency on-site inspections.

Gyeonggi Province has taken stern measures to prevent balloon launches, which are one of the reasons that North Korea detonated the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office last year, straining inter-Korean relations. The province’s measures include declaring the five cities and counties on the border as “danger zones” and banning balloon launches.

Residents of villages in the Civilian Control Zone hung up five banners on Unification Bridge and at the entrance to Unification Village – known as Tongil Village in Korean – denouncing the balloon launches. (provided by Unification Village)

Residents of villages in the Civilian Control Zone hung up five banners on Unification Bridge and at the entrance to Unification Village – known as Tongil Village in Korean – denouncing the balloon launches. (provided by Unification Village)

The province’s announcement of a crackdown is based on indications that tensions are rising over the balloon launches.

After a defector group called Fighters for a Free North Korea, led by Park Sang-hak, claimed that it had carried out two launches of balloons carrying 500,000 leaflets in border areas in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces at the end of April, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the North would consider “corresponding measures.”

Since then, North Korean military units near the border have reportedly moved anti-aircraft guns further south into forward positions.

“The brazen attempts by some defectors to disseminate propaganda leaflets in North Korea makes a mockery of South Korea’s laws and creates anxiety for people living on the border. Gyeonggi Province will fully cooperate with the police and with cities and counties on the border and will apply all provincial resources to fully block all illegal distribution of propaganda leaflets,” said Lee Jae-gang.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung issued a statement Friday calling for the prevention of any more launches of propaganda balloons and the swift investigation and strict prosecution of anyone responsible for those launches.

A revised version of the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act that bans the dissemination of propaganda leaflets to North Korea took effect in March. Under the revised law, illegal dissemination of propaganda leaflets carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and up to 30 million won (US$26,488) in fines.

Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Jae-gang holds an on-site inspection Friday of a police unit deployed in Paju region to prevent the launch of balloons filled with propaganda leaflets into North Korea. (provided by Gyeonggi Province)

In a related story, residents of villages in the Civilian Control Zone hung up five banners on Unification Bridge and at the entrance to Unification Village – known as Tongil Village in Korean – denouncing the balloon launches.

“When the balloon launches create an emergency, citizens are prevented from entering or exiting the Civilian Control Zone, which creates serious problems for our farming and everyday lives. The village’s economy has already suffered from the decline in tourists since 2019 following outbreaks of African swine fever and COVID-19. We’re concerned that the balloon launches might make the situation even worse,” said Lee Wan-bae, mayor of Unification Village.

By Park Kyung-man, North Gyeonggi correspondent

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