Anchor: Balloon propaganda campaigns have been going on for many years as a way for activists in South Korea to attempt contact with people in the North by attaching anti-Pyongyang leaflets to balloons and launching them into the sky. While the new government is cracking down on this activity, citing the need to protect border communities and encourage reconciliation between the two Koreas, divisions are emerging among the activists themselves. Some are saying it’s time to call a halt to the launches and give dialogue a chance, while others argue that North Koreans should be informed of their own situation.  
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: As President Lee Jae Myung’s administration pushes for renewed inter-Korean dialogue, civic groups involved in launching anti-Pyongyang leaflets are divided about government calls to suspend their activities.

In an interview with KBS World, Choi Seong-ryong, head of the Abductees’ Families Union, said he is “seriously reviewing” a pause on the launches after recent appeals from senior government officials. 

[Sound bite: Choi Seong-ryong - Chief, Abductees’ Families Union (Korean-English)]
“We haven’t been able to obtain [information about the abductees from North Korea], or other things, including proof of life. So we couldn’t wait any longer, and we decided to send newsletters [to North Korea]. But now the new government has come in, and they are saying they are going to talk with North Korea. So we are cooperating to resolve the issues.”  

The group, which represents families of South Koreans kidnapped by North Korea, started its campaign to pressure Pyongyang into disclosing the fate of the abductees and to raise public awareness within South Korea.

[Sound bite: Choi Seong-ryong - Chief, Abductees’ Families Union (Korean-English)]
“To solve our issues, they have to hold summit talks, and that way, we can ask for proof of life from North Korea. So on the premise of holding inter-Korean talks, we have decided to suspend our activities for now. That’s why we are suspending the leaflet activities. We are demanding that they hold summit talks or inter-Korean dialogue quickly. That’s the main reason. Without summit talks, or inter-Korean talks, we cannot receive proof of life.” 

But not all activists agree with this approach. 

Lee Min-bok, a North Korean defector and head of the Campaign for Direct Help for North Koreans told KBS World that he has no plans to stop launching balloons, arguing it is his civic duty and a legitimate exercise of free speech.

[Sound bite: Lee Min-bok - Chief, Campaign for Direct Help for North Koreans (Korean-English)] 
“In principle, preventing [activities like] this is only possible in autocratic countries because this is a freedom of speech issue. This is a free civic movement. … 
“North Koreans are compatriots whose eyes and ears are covered. Shouldn’t we help people with no access to radio and the internet? Shouldn’t we help these people on humanist and humanitarian grounds?”

Lee said North Koreans are being fed lies about their leaders and the outside world, and that his group is sending them accurate information and messages of peace so they won’t be misled.

Lee criticized the recent attention paid to poorly executed balloon launches, saying many are cheap publicity stunts that endanger border communities and damage the credibility of legitimate activists.

Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, told KBS World that his group has sent leaflets to the North for the last 20 years regardless of which side was in power and hinted that he will not be swayed by the political situation at home.  

The Lee Jae Myung administration has made outreach to the North a key policy priority. Earlier this month, it ceased loudspeaker broadcasts along the DMZ that had blasted K-pop and criticism of the Kim regime — prompting reciprocal action from Pyongyang. 

Authorities have recently detained foreign activists attempting to send anti-Pyongyang materials across the border, citing public safety concerns in border communities.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.