South Korean activists send more propaganda-filled balloons into North Korea

Activists in South Korea, including some North Korean defectors who were soldiers when they lived in the North, sent propaganda-loaded balloons over the border into North Korea on Wednesday, defying Pyongyang’s past threats of retaliation against the launches.

The helium-filled balloons were stuffed with DVDs and leaflets documenting human rights abuses in the North. They also contained 1,000 U.S. $1 bills and small USB drives loaded with the Korean-language version of Wikipedia.

Thor Halvorssen of the U.S.-based Human Rights Foundation, which helped organize the launch, called the balloons “controversial,” but said it is crucial North Koreans be allowed to access information the rest of the world already enjoys.

North Korea has lashed out at previous balloon launches, threatening to shell South Korea in response to such actions, which it calls deliberate provocation by Seoul that could lead to war. Seoul maintains that it has nothing to do with the launches.

>> Click to watch brief video of propaganda balloons being launched into north korea  <<

[VoA]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid and Relief, North Korean refugee by Grant Montgomery.