In Seoul
THE sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets via balloons has been going on for decades. But the practice has come under the media spotlight in recent months.
The North’s regime is worried that its people may get wind of the alleged ill-health of its leader Kim Jong Il who wields absolute power.
(By the way, a French doctor who treated Kim told a French newspaper yesterday that Kim did indeed have a stroke but is still in control.)
The activists who send the leaflets can be divided into three groups: Family members of those were abducted to North Korea, those who want to spread democracy and the ones who want to spread Christianity to their brethren across the border.
After much pleading from the Seoul authorities, the activists agreed to temporarily suspend sending the across the border, abiding by the government’s effort to reduce friction with its communist neighbor.
The spreading of the leaflets has become a bone of contention between the two countries, with North Korea sharply restricting passage across their shared border in retaliation. Activists have earlier snubbed repeated requests by the South Korean government to suspend the activity.
With North Korea showing no signs of relenting in piling pressure on the South and the latest collapse of the six-party talks, it will not be too long before the balloons start to soar again - this time, probably with even more vitriol against the ailing dictator.