A balloon carrying North Korean leaflets lands in a rice paddy in Cheorwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Might 29, 2024. (Yonhap)
A former soldier who participated in leaflet-dropping operations in opposition to North Korea has testified that the Protection Psychological Operation Group, a unit immediately below the Ministry of Nationwide Protection, secretly despatched leaflets to North Korea from October 2023 till simply earlier than the emergency martial regulation declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
Whereas some media studies beforehand indicated that propaganda leaflets had been despatched by navy authorities in addition to civilian teams throughout the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, that is the primary time a soldier concerned within the operation has supplied testimony.
The Protection Psychological Operation Group, or DPOG, is a unit tasked with conducting psychological warfare operations, equivalent to distributing leaflets and broadcasting by way of loudspeakers, in occasions of emergency.
“In mid-October 2023, I despatched about 10 massive balloons carrying leaflets towards the North for the primary time with fellow unit members on the entrance line,” the previous soldier, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, advised the Hankyoreh on Sunday. The younger man served within the psyops unit from 2023 to 2024.
The whistleblower who spoke to the Hankyoreh in regards to the South Korean Protection Psychological Operation Group’s operations to drop propaganda leaflets into North Korea requested that their identification be withheld for the sake of fellow troopers.
The whistleblower’s unit reportedly performed operations about a few times each two months from then till November 2024. From then on, in accordance with the previous soldier, the unit launched about 100 balloons per operation, every carrying roughly 10 kilograms (22 kilos) of leaflets.
The DPOG’s leaflet dispersal operations intensified after the Constitutional Courtroom struck down a authorized provision banning the sending of leaflets to North Korea on Sept. 26, 2023, discovering it unconstitutional.
“Earlier than the Constitutional Courtroom’s determination, we performed leaflet distribution coaching in rear bases. Beginning that September, we started coaching on the bases close to the Navy Demarcation Line, and extra continuously as effectively,” the previous soldier mentioned. He added that he and others performed life like coaching for a couple of month after which, the next month in October, truly despatched balloons carrying leaflets to North Korea.
Based on the whistleblower, the psyops unit on the time marked North Korean navy bases, airports and cities with a sure inhabitants dimension on navy maps. They then calculated wind course and velocity in real-time to find out probably the most appropriate targets for leaflet balloons. The previous soldier mentioned troops despatched leaflets “so far as Wonsan” on the japanese coast.
A civic group representing households of abductees held in North Korea flew propaganda leaflets into North Korea from the town of Paju, south of the border, at round 9 pm on Might 2, 2025. (courtesy of the civic group)
The psychological warfare unit performed operations on days when civilian teams had been identified to ship leaflets to North Korea, to keep away from publicity of their actions. “Round 9 to 11 pm, unit members would change out of their navy uniforms, which had their names and unit affiliations, into black clothes worn by particular operations personnel earlier than being deployed for the operation,” the previous soldier mentioned. The leaflet balloons weren’t solely launched by the whistleblower’s unit but additionally from a number of places alongside the central and western fronts.
Rep. Boo Seung-chan of the Democratic Celebration, who has been monitoring the DPOG’s leaflet actions, mentioned that the operations had been a part of Yoon’s plan to concoct an excuse for invoking martial regulation.
“The Yoon administration sought to impress North Korea not solely with drones infiltrating Pyongyang but additionally with propaganda leaflets as a way to create justification for declaring martial regulation,” Boo mentioned.
By Kwon Hyuk-chul, workers reporter
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