Abductee family group's leafleting plan blocked by protesting border residents, police

▲ An activist holds a banner in the Imjingak border village in Paju on Oct. 31, 2024, demanding a halt to leaflet campaigns. (Yonhap)

▲ Choi Seong-ryong, head of an abductee families' group, speaks during a press conference at the Imjingak border village on Oct. 31, 2024. (Yonhap)

▲ Activists protest against a civic group's plan to sent leaflets to North Korea in Paju on Oct. 31, 2024. (Yonhap)

activists-leaflet campaign

Abductee family group's leafleting plan blocked by protesting border residents, police

PAJU, South Korea, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- Families of those abducted by North Korea attempted to fly propaganda leaflets into North Korea on Thursday, but police officers and border residents blocked the plan, arguing it would be illegal and pose safety threats to border residents.

Family members of abductees arrived at the Imjingak tourist zone near the inter-Korean border in Paju, about 28 kilometers northwest of Seoul, with leaflets on Thursday morning but soon announced the cancellation of their leaflet plan.

The cancellation came as some 800 police officers, firefighters and officials of the Gyeonggi provincial government were deployed to prevent any leaflet campaign in the border area.

Riding farm tractors, about 50 farmers from border villages and other residents also lined the road to block the entryway, holding banners with protest messages, calling for an end to leaflet campaigns.

The abductee families' group had planned to launch large balloons containing 100,000 leaflets and one-dollar bills into North Korea on Thursday, seeking to raise awareness about the abductee issue.

A copy of a leaflet previously shown by the group included images and descriptions of those abducted by North Korea, including Megumi Yokota from Japan and five other Koreans who were abducted as high school students.

The Gyeonggi government, which oversees the border area, has responded sternly by declaring Paju and two nearby border regions as "danger zones" and stepping up patrols to prevent any leaflet campaigns, citing potential safety threats to residents.

Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation for what it claims are anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent across the border by activists in the South.

While visiting the campaign site, Paju Mayor Kim Gyeong-il declared the leaflet campaign "illegal" and issued an order for the abductee families' group to leave the area.

"Residents of Daeseong-dong (within the Demilitarized Zone) are enduring terrible assaults from North Korean loudspeakers, which surpass the imagination of those who have not experienced them," the mayor said, pledging efforts to secure their safety.

The abductee families' group said that it will launch another leaflet campaign, this time using drones to scatter leaflets into North Korea instead of balloons.

Choi Seong-ryong, the group's head, called on the government and politicians for a prompt resolution of issues involving abductees. He also issued a separate message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, urging him to "address the abductee issue and live comfortably," and engage in dialogue with South Korea.

A police officer in Gyeonggi said that police will conduct 24-hour patrols around the area and immediately block any attempt to send leaflets.

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