North Korea accuses the South of flying drones over Pyongyang

North Korea accused South Korea of ​​flying propaganda-laden drones over Pyongyang and threatened “retaliation”, state media reported on Friday.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not confirm or deny the accusations, but urged North Korea “not to act hastily” and said “all responsibility for the recent series of events lies with North Korea North,” referring to the garbage-laden balloons that have been Pyongyang. sending continuously south.

On Friday evening, North Korea’s foreign ministry claimed that South Korea, “the most hostile, malicious and rogue state, has carried out a severe political and military provocation of infiltrating drones into Pyongyang ” and “spread leaflets against North Korea” on three occasions. over the past week, state media reported.

The ministry warned that the South would “face a dire situation if it continues the provocations,” the report added.

North Korea’s state-run KCNA released footage of what it said was a drone, as well as images of leaflets that read “a comparison of the food you can buy” and “North Korea’s economic situation is going to hell” .

CNN cannot independently confirm the presence of drones in North Korean airspace.

For many years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have sent balloons to the North, loaded with propaganda material critical of leader Kim Jong Un, along with USB sticks filled with K-pop songs and TV shows from South Korea, all strictly prohibited in impoverished countries. , very isolated nation. Some activists have even installed GPS trackers on “smart balloons” that can travel hundreds of kilometers.

In 2020, South Korea passed a law criminalizing the sending of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border as the previous liberal government in Seoul pushed for engagement with Pyongyang.

But many activists challenged the ruling before it was overturned last year by a court that called the law an excessive restriction on freedom of expression, in response to a complaint filed by activists who defected from North Korea in the South

In response, North Korean authorities have sent more than 1,000 balloons into the South since May carrying trash, debris and worms, fueling tensions as Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, warned of the ” problems” ahead.

And in 2022, North Korea sent five drones to South Korea, four of which flew around Ganghwa Island and another that flew over the airspace north of the capital Seoul.

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