SEOUL Dec 24 (Reuters) – Members of a South Korean
human rights group launched giant balloons carrying leaflets
into North Korea on Saturday, a week after the death of the
reclusive state’s leader renewed tension on the Korean
peninsula.
The launch, which drew supporters from Britain, the United
States, Japan and South Africa, was the second this week and
risks angering the North because of the leaflets criticising the
regime in Pyongyang.
More than 50 members of the Korean Peninsula-International
Peace Organization gathered on the outskirts of Paju, just 3 km
(2 miles) from the world’s most heavily militarized border, to
launch four huge balloons.
“The people of the world do not forget the ordeal that our
North Korean brothers are undergoing,” the leaflets said.
“Please be alive until the day of unification.”
Lee Ju-seong, a spokesman for the group, said the balloons
also carried hundreds of pairs of socks they hoped could be
traded for food on the North Korean black market. Chronic food
shortages in the communist North have left many people starving.
“Until the day of reunification we will continue to send
socks,” said Lee, who defected from North Korea several years
ago.
In the past, North Korea has threatened to retaliate against
the balloon launches. The government in Seoul backed down this
week from plans to light Christmas towers near the border after
Pyongyang said it might strike at the South if they were lit.
The government in Seoul has not tried to stop the balloon
launches since Kim’s death, announced on Monday, although
activists have been discouraged in the past to avoid provoking
the North.
(Reporting by Kang Seongbin; Writing by Sung-won Shim)
© Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
