By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea’s unification ministry has urged North Korea to “come to the negotiating table to raise any issue if it has one instead of issuing one-sided statements.”
The government’s stance was delivered Tuesday via a ministry official to local news agency Yonhap, following the North’s recent criticism of civic groups attempting to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border from the South.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency cited Tuesday a statement in which a spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea accused the South’s “puppet regime” of permitting “human scum” to distribute defamatory leaflets.
The North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper also asked Seoul to stop “hostile actions such as the leaflet drops.”
On Sunday, activists in South Korea released ten balloons carrying 200,000 leaflets near the border – having used the method to bypass Pyongyang’s strict control of communications for years.
The North has in turn repeatedly denounced such activities, even threatening military action – on Saturday, the Rodong Sinmun referred to the cross-border spread of leaflets as “a more grave provocation than shooting and shelling.”
Just over a week ago, North Korea took the rare step of sending two protest letters to Seoul, demanding action against the civic activists in question.
The South Korean government maintains that it cannot legally stop the groups, though police blockades have been set up to limit their activities.
Meanwhile, hundreds of North Koreans are currently based in the South Korean city of Incheon, which is hosting the ongoing Asian Games – seen as an opportunity to narrow differences that were cemented during the 1950-53 Korean War.
www.aa.com.tr/en
