Someone Isn’t Feeling That Unification Spirit (And We’ll Find Out Who!).

North Korea threatens to cut off access to Kaesong over leaflet balloons, which don’t just carry leaflets anymore:

The head of a North Korean delegation to inter-Korean defense talks sent a letter to the South which read, “Despite our repeated requests, the South Korean government goaded and tacitly permitted activists to send propaganda leaflets that castigate our ideology and regime, small radios, US$1 bills and DVDs [via helium balloons] from May 1.”

An anonymous South Korean official speculates that the North Koreans may be trying to preempt a South Korean decision to pull out of Kaesong over the sinking of the Cheonan, though the North Korean government clearly hates those balloons. It seems that for a variety of reasons, the ardor of both governments for Kaesong has cooled in recent years. Meanwhile, Seoul is cutting off another source of funding for Pyongyang:

South Korea said Monday it had suspended funding for government-level exchanges with communist North Korea amid rising tensions over the sinking of a Seoul warship and other issues. The unification ministry, which is in charge of cross-border relations, said it has asked 10 ministries or other organisations to suspend the spending. [AFP]

Thousands of protesters rallied Friday in central Seoul, accusing North Korea of sinking a South Korean warship and calling for revenge. “Tear down Kim Jong-Il’s terrorist regime,” they shouted, in reference to the North’s leader, raising placards reading “Vengeance” and “Remember the Cheonan.” [AFP]

I wonder if it’s legal to burn the North Korean flag again, in contrast to Roh Moo Hyun’s term, when American flags were torched almost every day while burning a North Korean flag could get you arrested on the spot. Something tells me those days are probably behind us for a while.

2 Responses

  1. If he’s doing that from an area as restricted (right?) as Paengnyŏngdo, it would seem that he’s got some government backing, at least indirectly.