ROK to persuade civic groups not to float anti-DPRK leaflets

SEOUL -- The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s Unification Ministry said on Tuesday that it plans to persuade civic groups not to float leaflets against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) via balloons across the border.

A ministry official was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that the South Korean government has been urging civic groups to make a prudent and wise decision as publicly scattering anti-DPRK leaflets "is not desirable."

The official said the ministry plans to deliver such position of the government to the civic groups, which unveiled their plans days ago to scatter anti-DPRK leaflets and copies of "The Interview," a film featuring a fictional plot to assassinate top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.

Such anti-DPRK leaflets and the movie copies are expected to be scattered around March 26, the fifth anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan.

The Cheonan warship sank in waters near the disputed western sea border on March 26, 2010, killing 46 soldiers. Seoul insisted that the warship sinking was caused by a DPRK torpedo attack, but Pyongyang repeatedly denied its involvement.

The planned scattering is expected to worsen situations on the Korean Peninsula amid growing tensions caused by the ongoing US- ROK joint annual military exercises, code-named "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" that kicked off last Monday.

The DPRK has denounced the military drills as a rehearsal for the northward invasion, launching two short-range ballistic missiles on the day when the military drills began. The ROK has said that those exercises are defensive in nature.

In October 2014, the DPRK shot at balloons carrying anti-DPRK leaflets, resulting in the failure of the inter-Korean talks agreed when three top-level DPRK officials made a surprise visit to the ROK to join the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games.