N. KOREA EXPRESSES DISCONTENT OVER LEAFLETS

[Anchor Lead]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister Kim Yo-jong has expressed discontent about leaflets flown recently to the North, and announced a warning statement addressing the South Korean government. It says if Seoul fails to take appropriate measures to stop activists from flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets, the inter-Korean military agreement signed two years might also be scrapped.

[Pkg]

In a statement issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, the North has expressed strong discontent about anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by North Korean defectors. The statement says, "Do not cause trouble first." Kim Yo-jong, who holds a senior position in the North's Workers' Party, said she was taken aback by a media report about hundreds of thousands of leaflets sent by North Korean defectors on May 31. The statement goes on to say that the Panmunjom Declaration and the inter-Korean military agreement, which prohibit any hostile acts near the military demarcation line, including anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown across the border, must in no way be ignored. The North Korean leader's sister warned South Korean officials that they should be ready for dealing with the consequences of raising the nuclear issue (quote) "at the most inappropriate time in the most spiteful way." (unquote) She said that if Seoul fails to take corresponding measures, it must be ready for Pyongyang's response, which may include a permanent closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and a liaison office with the South as well as the scrapping of the inter-Korean military agreement. Kim added that the military agreement signed in 2018 is completely useless. Speaking about the upcoming 20th anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration signed between Seoul and Pyongyang at the first inter-Korean summit, Kim Yo-jong warned that if Seoul fails to prevent unabashed and vicious acts of its activists under the pretext of the freedom of expression and personal freedom, South Korea will soon find itself in the worst situation ever. Kim's statement comes in response to some 500,000 leaflets and a thousand memory cards flown toward the North in a large balloon by a defector group called Fighters For Free North Korea from Gimpo on May 31.