North Korea Shuts Down ‘Gifts’: What the Ceasefire Means for the Future of Korean Unification Efforts

North Korea has announced that it will cease releasing balloons filled with trash across the border in response to South Korea’s leaflet spreading activities. The move was described as a strong message to South Korea, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA.

North Korea has warned that if South Korea continues to spread leaflets, they will respond by releasing even more waste paper across the border. This threat was described as a “pure response” to South Korea’s activities. Some activists in Korea have used balloons to send leaflets, cash, rice, or USB drives containing content to North Korea. In response, North Korea referred to trash-filled balloons as a “sincere gift”.

The balloons containing trash landed in a park in Incheon, South Korea on June 2, prompting a response from the South Korean military. They dispatched soldiers and police officers to collect the debris. South Korea’s National Security Council met to discuss how to respond to North Korea’s actions and did not rule out the possibility of resuming propaganda loudspeaker operations along the border to retaliate.

During a period of improved inter-Korean relations in 2018, both sides agreed to end all hostile acts against each other, including leaflet spreading. In 2020, South Korea passed a law criminalizing the act of dropping leaflets into North Korea, but activists continued to defy the law. Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, defended North Korea’s actions, stating that they were an expression of freedom of speech. Despite the ongoing tensions