Civic groups postpone sending propaganda flyers to N.Korea

South Korean activist groups will postpone the plan conditionally. The groups planned to send propaganda flyers to the North to mark the fifth anniversary of North Korea’s torpedo attack on the naval corvette Cheonan on Thursday. The impact of the decision on the inter-Korean relationship is drawing attention as sending leaflets to the North caused North Korea’s military response and even an internal conflict in South Korea last year.

Groups such as the Fighters For Free North Korea and the National Action Campaign, which claimed that they would send propaganda flyers to the North, had a meeting on Monday morning and decided to postpone the plan for the time being.

“We’ll release a statement urging for North Korea’s apology for the bombing of the corvette Cheonan and wait and see Pyongyang’s response,” National Action Campaign President Seo Jeong-gab said in a telephone interview with the Dong-A Ilbo. “As we didn’t give a deadline for an apology, we’ll wait and see for some time.” This means that the group will delay its plan to send balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and DVDs of the movie “The Interview” scheduled on Thursday for a while.

The decision has been made for the sake of the residents living in the affected region who feel anxious about North Korea’s recent military threats.

“As North Korea hasn`t apologized for its torpedo attack on the corvette, we demand for an apology from the North,” Seo said. “Since we send flyers to punish the North for the bombing of the Cheonan, it’s an implicit message that we could stop sending the flyers if Pyongyang makes an apology.”