(RepublicanView.org) – North Korean officials are condemning the South Korean government after it repealed a law that prohibited citizens from distributing fliers criticizing North Korea to the North.
Authorities in the isolationist state claim removing the law is tantamount to engaging in psychological warfare. They threatened to retaliate against the South with “a shower of shells,” according to reports.
North Korean state media outlet Korean Central News Agency published the government’s harsh rebuke in response to a decision made during a court case in September. During that case, the Constitutional Court in South Korea determined that the law forbidding leaflet propaganda violated the nation’s constitutional mandates for free speech.
North Korea maintains strict control over its news media and the people’s access to information. The state controls the narrative among its population and closely restricts reports for other countries.
The case began after defectors from North Korea filed a complaint. The group is known to attach fliers and USB drives to large helium balloons, which are then released to float over North Korea. The media attached includes news from the outside world and criticisms of the North’s government.
The law was originally passed in 2020 under a more liberal administration. They were hoping to build better ties between themselves, their allies (including the US), and North Korea. Those efforts included a summit that saw then President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un shake hands.
To help facilitate this inter-Korean engagement, the South Korean government passed a law forbidding leaflets after the North expressed outrage and hinted at a possible attack. However, they did so with little regard for their constitution. Like the US Constitution, South Korea’s Constitution protects free speech and expression.
The two nations have since frozen diplomacy, although North Korea often makes threats that it never follows through with. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit South Korea soon. He plans to discuss North Korea’s possible allyship with the South’s leaders.
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