Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has issued a stern warning to South Korea over propaganda leaflets sent across the border by defectors. She cautioned that continued air drops could jeopardise a 2018 peacekeeping agreement between the two Koreas.
The leaflets, concealed in 500,000 balloons, were launched earlier this week by a group of North Korean defectors. According to the Yonhap news agency, the messages criticised Kim Jong-un's nuclear threats and condemned North Korea's human rights record.
In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, Kim Yo-jong said Pyongyang would consider cancelling the Panmunjom declaration if activists continued to send 'anti-North Korean' leaflets across the demilitarised zone (DMZ). She warned that South Korea would 'face the worst phase' and be forced to 'pay a dear price' if the situation continued.
Kim Yo-jong, who holds a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party, described the defectors as 'mongrel dogs' and 'human scum'. She suggested that further leafleting could prompt the North to withdraw from the Kaesong industrial complex and shut down a joint liaison office in the border town.
The Kaesong complex has been inactive since February 2016, and the liaison office has been closed since January due to the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean government has limited ability to prevent private groups from sending such messages, as they are protected under freedom of expression.
