Police deployed on South Korean border town

More than 300 police were deployed on the South Korean border after activists planned to launch propaganda leaflets in Paju, around 40 kilometers north of Seoul. The activists proposed to release balloons with 40,000 propaganda leaflets criticizing the North Korean government.

Local residents in Paju however, opposed the move and set up a road block with two tractors. They also carried placards with the words, "Stop anti-North leaflet launch jeopardizing our lives" and "We will become victims of shelling if leaflets are scattered." Paju residents insisted that a military threat by the North was to be taken seriously and that by launching balloons criticizing Pyongyang, the activists were endangering their lives.

Seoul said the activists had a democratic right to launch the propaganda material, but urged them to exercise restraint. The leaflets, including those released in the past, criticize Northern leader Kim Jong Un and his lavish lifestyle compared to the extreme poverty most North Koreans had to suffer.

Pyongyang threatens retaliation

Meanwhile, North Korea condemned the launch of leaflets in the recent weeks. In a commentary in Pyongyang's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, the North emphasized that scattering leaflets was equivocal to "slandering its dignity and system" and if it happened again, Pyongyang would retaliate.

The North warned of military action if the propaganda launches were not halted. It also said such an action would hinder the planned resumption of peace talks with the South. Earlier in October, a skirmish between Northern and Southern troops occurred following a similar leaflet launch in the town of Yeoncheon on the southern border.

Pyongyang is still technically at war with its southern neighbor because the Korean War between the two from 1950-1953 didn't end with a peace treaty. More than 1.8 million troops are stationed on the border between the two countries.

mg/sb (Reuters, AFP)