SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea will face “devastating consequences” if it sprays anti-Pyongyang leaflets over North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim said at least 29 large balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets from the South have been found around North Korea, leading to the blockade of the area and causing inconvenience to residents.
Tensions rose last month after North Korea sent thousands of balloons filled with garbage into South Korea in protest after North Korean defectors and South Korean activists have for years flown aid and leaflets critical of the Kim regime across the heavily guarded border.
Kim said Pyongyang might respond differently if the “despicable and filthy” acts by those he called “human scum” continued, but gave no details.
“The situation appears to be becoming unacceptable. I once again issue a stern warning,” she said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. “You will face devastating and terrible consequences.”
(Reporting by Hyunhee Shin; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast)