The unification ministry on Thursday condemned a statement issued by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who claimed Pyongyang’s sending of balloons carrying trash to South Korea came out of North Koreans’ exercise of freedom of expression.
North Korea flew hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure to South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, after it warned of a “tit-for-tat” action against Seoul activists’ campaign of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
On Wednesday night, Kim Yo-jong issued a statement laden with mockery, saying the balloons were “sincere presents” for South Koreans who are crying for the guarantee for freedom of expression and her country will send rubbish “dozens of times” more than those being scattered in the North.
This photo, provided by a reader, shows two big balloons presumably sent by North Korea, found at a field in Yongin, 38 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 29, 2024. North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and othe
r waste this week across the border with South Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it is absurd for North Korea to talk about freedom of expression as North Koreans’ right to freedom of speech is severely undermined under the regime’s tight surveillance.
“Given the fact that North Korea restricts the freedom of expression by enacting three ‘evil’ laws, North Korea made a self-contradictory claim,” the ministry said in a release.
Kim’s warning of sending more balloons carrying trash indicated that the North’s regime is the main agent carrying out the balloon scattering, not its people, the ministry noted.
“North Korea should realize that it is a more urgent task to allow its people to freely access outside information and enjoy the right to self-determination,” the ministry said.
Seoul’s foreign ministry downplayed Kim’s claim as preposterous.
“The claim that the uncivilized and irrational act of spreading filth and trash is an expression of freedom is
a preposterous argument unworthy of consideration,” ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.
“We warn North Korea to immediately stop the lowly actions, which not only threaten the safety of our citizens but also are an embarrassment to the North Korean residents,” Lim said.
North Korea adopted three so-called “evil” laws in recent years to strengthen internal control and curb the influence of outside culture, including the act to “reject the reactionary ideology and culture” and that to protect the Pyongyang dialect and culture.
A unification ministry official told reporters that North Korea’s latest cross-border sending of balloons appears aimed at driving a wedge in South Korea as part of its psychological warfare against the South.
Source: Yonhap News Agency