A Unification Ministry official says it has no plans to urge civic groups to stop sending anti-North Korean fliers to North Korea. The North has threatened to shoot when such leaflets are sent from the South.

The official said that the ministry had not asked civic groups to refrain from sending the anti-North Korean fliers to the North since the South Korean “Cheonan” Navy vessel sank in March last year. A North Korean torpedo has been blamed for the sinking.

The official said that military authorities have repeatedly expressed their stance on military readiness and responses to North Korea’s threats of firing artillery towards the site where the leaflets are launched. The official added that the North’s raising tension by threatening military attacks will not help thaw the currently unfriendly inter-Korean relations.