Ministry of Unification: "No North Korean Crossing in the Surprise Leaflet Drop on the 22nd"

"Claims by North Korean Defector Groups Have Low Credibility"

On the night of the 22nd, a balloon sent by a North Korean defector organization for leaflet distribution fell on the night of the 23rd in a nearby mountain in Magok-ri, Seomyeon, Hongcheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, and the police are collecting it.
The discovered balloon for leaflet distribution is 2 to 3 meters in size and has a photo of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un's family attached.

The Ministry of Unification announced on the 23rd that none of the leaflets and items suddenly distributed toward North Korea by the North Korean defector group Free Joseon Movement Alliance on the night of the 22nd crossed into the North.

The Ministry stated, "Considering the list of supplies purchased by Park Sang-hak, the representative of the Free Joseon Movement Alliance, and various conditions such as wind direction on the 22nd and 23rd, it is understood that no leaflets moved into North Korean territory."

Park claimed that between 11 p.m. and midnight the previous night, six members of the group released 500,000 leaflets, 500 booklets, 2,000 one-dollar bills, and 1,000 SD cards attached to 20 large balloons in Deogeun-ri, Wollong-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province.

The Ministry of Unification viewed this claim as "low in credibility based on the circumstances."

According to the government, balloons released by the Free Joseon Movement Alliance were found in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, 70 km southeast of Paju, but the booklets, dollar bills, and SD cards that Park claimed to have released were not found.

Additionally, it is understood that as the police intensified crackdowns by confiscating hydrogen gas used for balloon buoyancy, making it difficult to secure hydrogen gas, Park’s group purchased helium gas sufficient to lift one balloon.

The Ministry of Unification stated, "We will respond sternly to Park’s group’s continued attempts to distribute leaflets and items toward North Korea, which escalate tensions between the South and North through false information and threaten the lives and safety of local residents."

They also announced plans to strongly crack down on Park’s group’s office and residences.

Earlier, the Ministry of Unification expressed "deep regret" over Park’s group’s attempts to distribute leaflets and items toward North Korea, stating, "Distributing leaflets and items toward North Korea is an act that escalates tensions between the South and North and threatens the lives and safety of local residents."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.