() – North Korea accused South Korea of flying propaganda-packed drones over Pyongyang and threatened “retaliation,” state media reported Friday.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, but urged North Korea “not to act rashly” and said that “the entire responsibility for the recent series of developments lies with North Korea,” referring to the balloons filled with garbage that Pyongyang has been continuously sending to the South.
On Friday night, North Korea’s foreign ministry said that South Korea, “the most hostile and malicious state, has carried out a serious political and military provocation by infiltrating drones into Pyongyang” and “dispersing anti-terrorism leaflets.” -North Korea” on three occasions in the last week, state media reported.
The ministry warned that South Korea “will face a horrible situation if it continues with provocations,” the report added.
The KCNA, North Korea’s state agency, published images of what it claimed to be a drone, as well as photos of pamphlets that said “a comparison of the food you can buy” and “North Korea’s economic situation falling to hell.” .
cannot independently confirm the presence of drones in North Korean airspace.
For many years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have sent balloons to the North, loaded with propaganda material criticizing leader Kim Jong Un, along with USBs filled with K-pop songs and South Korean television shows, all strictly prohibited in the impoverished and highly isolated nation. Some activists have even equipped “smart” balloons with GPS trackers that can travel hundreds of kilometers.
In 2020, South Korea passed a law criminalizing the sending of anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets across the border, as the previous liberal government in Seoul pushed for engagement with Pyongyang.
But many activists challenged the law before it was struck down by a court last year, which called the law an excessive restriction on freedom of expression, in response to a complaint filed by North Korean activist-defectors in the South.
In response, North Korean authorities have sent more than 1,000 balloons to the South since May, loaded with garbage, debris and worms, fueling tensions as Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, warned of “trouble” over come.
In 2022, North Korea sent five drones to South Korea, four of which flew around Ganghwa Island and another that flew over the airspace north of the capital Seoul.
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