Seoul: South Korean families of individuals abducted by North Korea have launched large balloons filled with leaflets into the North, urging the regime to repatriate their loved ones, a group representing these families announced.
According to Yonhap News Agency, three giant latex balloons were dispatched from a South Korean border area in Gangwon Province. These balloons, launched the previous night, carried approximately 1,000 leaflets concerning abductees in North Korea. This action marks the group's latest contentious leaflet campaign, following a prior balloon launch from Paju, a South Korean border city, on April 27.
The group has persistently conducted this on-and-off leaflet campaign, demanding information about the whereabouts of seven individuals abducted by the North. These include Megumi Yokota from Japan and five Koreans who were abducted as high school students in the 1970s. The group has consistently called for their repatriation.
Data from a GPS signaling device attached to one of the balloons indicated that it landed in an area south of North Korea's Kumgang county, near the inter-Korean border. The group's leader has expressed determination to continue sending leaflet balloons until there is confirmation regarding the status of his abducted father and other abductees.
This leaflet campaign frequently faces criticism from border residents and government officials, who express concerns that it might provoke retaliation from North Korea, thereby endangering border security.