South Korean activists send leaflets to NKorea

Hyung Jin Kim, the Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | World | Mon, October 22 2012, 9: 03 PM

South Korean activists floated balloons carrying tens of thousands of anti-Pyongyang leaflets in North Korea on Monday, evades police that a previous attempt launch due to the threats from North Korea had upset.

North Korea's military warned last week that it would strike if the South Korean activists that were made with their plan to fly balloons carrying the propaganda leaflets across the border. South Korea pledged to save, if it was attacked.

South Korean police, citing safety concerns, had sent hundreds of officers Monday blocking of roads and prevent the activists and other people gather at an announced launch site near the border. Residents in the area was also asked to evacuate to underground installations, according to local official Kim Jin-a.

Later in the day, some of the activists, mostly North Korean defectors, moved to another site near the border that is not guarded by the police and the launch of the balloons. South Korea's Defense Ministry said it was closely monitoring military movements of the North of Korea, but there were no suspicious activity.

Before taking action Monday, the South Korean Government had afsmeektet activists to stop their campaign, but had called freedom of expression in the not make further attempts to intervene.

South Korean activists have in the past sent leaflets across the border, and North Korea has similar threats to attack without follow through. But the Seoul Yonhap news agency reported Monday that the ban on entering the border zone was imposed, as South Korea detected that North Korea artillery had discovered muzzle covers and troops deployed to artillery positions in possible preparation for an attack. Yonhap cited no source for the information.

The Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters Monday that North Korea was believed to have acted in accordance with the execution of the threat. He refused to work on the North army traffic such as that was confidential military information.

He said that South Korea had strengthened its military readiness after the North threat and "strong" would hit back if attacked.

The activists said that they floated balloons with about 120,000 leaflets critical of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un and his young country alleged violations of human rights. She said that she wanted North Korean people let us know the true nature of their country.

"We cannot send our plans for that anti-North Korea directories because it is slowing down our love toward our northern brethren," the activists wrote in a statement, posted on the website of Seoul-based free North Korea Radio, one of the civil society organisations involved in the pamphlet.

Park Sang-hak lead activist who had said the ban on entering the border area was down to admit to Pyongyang of threat.

"It's surrender. It is clear that surrender, "he said.

The top u.s. Envoy on North Korea called on Monday, Pyongyang to continue editing destabilizing threats.

"It is grossly disproportionate to the have threatened to respond to balloons with bombs, ' Glyn Davies told reporters in Beijing after meeting with Chinese officials.

China, the biggest source of support, and the main ally of the North welcomes South Korean efforts to destroy the balloon-flying and urged all parties to exercise restraint.

"As a close neighbor to the peninsula, China supports the dialogue and discussions between North Korea and South Korea in resolving relevant issues, opposes any action that can increase tension, and firmly opposes military conflicts on the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily briefing of the media. "We hope the parties concerned will remain calm and restrained."

Korea's badly strained ties between the rival who were after two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

The Korean peninsula remains officially at war, because an armed conflict in the 1950s ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The latest flare up tension comes as nearly all regional actors are consumed with domestic policy. Elections are held or are soon expected in South Korea, the United States and Japan, while the Communist Party of China is in the middle of transfer of power to a younger generation of leaders.