In the balloon warfare between North Korea and South Korean activists, one Seoul-based group has honed its tech expertise to develop balloons capable of dispersing leaflets and electronic speakers hundreds of kilometers across the border. - REUTERS
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00:00Earlier this year, a secretive group of activists in South Korea quietly released a so-called
00:06smart balloon into the night sky.
00:09With a course charted over the border into reclusive North Korea, it carried a sophisticated
00:1415-pound payload.
00:17When the group launches them, they may include mechanical leaflet dispensers, bundles of
00:21speakers or GPS trackers.
00:24The activist group has been developing these intricate devices since 2016, with regular
00:28launches since 2022.
00:31The group has not previously discussed its activities with the media.
00:35Once or twice a month from spring to fall, when the wind blows north, they launch the
00:39balloons with an aim to go deeper into the north, dropping thousands of leaflets and
00:44blasting recordings critical of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in a North Korean accent.
00:50This one is saying Kim Jong-un is a traitor that opposes the people and reunification.
00:56Marine warfare between activists like these and the North took center stage late last
01:00month when Pyongyang sent more than a thousand balloons south, most filled with garbage and
01:06reportedly manure.
01:08Pyongyang officials said these were retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean
01:12defectors and activists in South Korea.
01:16The Seoul-based activist group that flies the smart balloons is among these groups.
01:21It's known as the Committee for Reform and Opening Up of Joseon.
01:25Joseon is often used as another name for North Korea.
01:28The group was founded by a North Korean defector and now has around 30 core members.
01:34They declined to be identified, not only over worries they may face harassment from South
01:39Koreans critical of balloon activism, but also crackdowns from authorities or even reprisals
01:44by North Korean agents.
01:47This member said North Korea's recent behavior was seen as a sign the group's tactics are
01:51working.
01:52Kim Yo-jong recently said South Korea should experience how unpleasant, how tiring it is
02:01to clean up their trash balloons.
02:03And this means North Korea is admitting that our smart balloons were scattered over large
02:08parts of their country.
02:11In a small rented apartment in Seoul, the team uses 3D printers to build white plastic
02:16boxes and components.
02:18These balloons contain devices pre-programmed to scatter 1,500 leaflets, 25 at a time, depending
02:25on flying conditions.
02:28Filled with hydrogen, the group's smart balloons stretch nearly 40 feet in length.
02:32Typical cargo might be six speakers to blast audio and six additional bundles, each containing
02:38a Bible and a shortwave radio.
02:41The group recently added altimeter-linked valves that prevent the balloons from going
02:45too high, which makes for a more stable flight.
02:49They estimate their balloons have a 50 to 60 percent success rate of going further than
02:54a dozen miles or so north of the border, with batteries that last for days.
02:59The flights are controversial in South Korea, with some residents arguing the balloons are
03:03confrontational and put them at risk.
03:06And with no way to independently verify where they land or what average North Koreans might
03:10think of the content, it's a debate as to how effective they are.
03:15Despite all that, the committee said they have no plans to dial back their operation
03:19any time soon.
03:22This should never be stopped, for the sake of the North Korean people and their freedom
03:27and rights, by delivering information on freedom.