SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea will face “devastating consequences” for dropping anti-Pyongyang leaflets on North Korea, state media KCNA said on Tuesday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
At least 29 large balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets from South Korea were found around North Korea, triggering a lockdown in the areas and causing disruption to residents, Kim said.
Tensions rose last month after North Korea sent thousands of balloons containing trash to the South in protest against a campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South, who for years carried aid packages and leaflets criticizing the regime. of Kim across the heavily fortified border.
Kim said Pyongyang may respond differently if the “petty and dirty” behavior of what she called “human scum” continues, without elaborating.
“The situation appeared to be becoming unacceptable. Once again I give you a stern warning,” she said in a statement released by KCNA. “You will have to face devastating and horrible consequences.”
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast.)