South Korea’s balloon crackdown hits anti-North Korea activists

The equipment activist Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons laden with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea unto the North has been gathering dust and cobwebs for months.

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When it became clear that center-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June presidential election, Lee Min-bok was among several South Korea-based activists who stopped their missions, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration.

Lee Jae Myung, a former human rights lawyer, is pushing to ease tensions with Pyongyang and last month said activists should be “severely punished” if they continue the balloon operations that anger North Korea.

“P’ve been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way,” 67-year-old Lee Min-bok told Reuters as he stood next to a rusting truck equipped with a hydrogen tank for filling balloons.

“But realistically, look how serious it is right now. Police are out there and if I move, everything will be reported.”

For years, police have monitored Mr. Lee from the home next door — one plainclothes officer told Reuters they are there to protect him from potential North Korean threats — but instead of checking weather reports for ideal balloon launching conditions, Mr. Lee now spends his days writing online posts criticizing the South Korean government.

CALLS TO ACTIVISTS

The activists, many of whom are North Korean defectors like Mr. Lee, are used to being at the center of geopolitical tensions.