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S. Korean Business Group Urges End of Leaflets to North


FILE - A journalist holds an anti-Pyongyang leaflet.
FILE - A journalist holds an anti-Pyongyang leaflet.

South Korean employers at the inter-Korean industrial complex are urging activists to refrain from launching anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North on Friday.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex Business Association released a statement Thursday, warning that such a move could jeopardize upcoming high-level talks between the two Koreas.

The Association says it has also asked the South Korean government to take an active role in dissuading the activists from the planned leaflet launch.

Employers at the Kaesong complex say they are going through financial distress due to months of forced closure of their factories last year.

Earlier, the Seoul-based Fighters for a Free North Korea, made up mostly of defectors from the North, announced plans to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North on Friday, which is the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.

Pyongyang has warned of an “uncontrollable catastrophe” in inter-Korean relations unless the South Korean government stops the planned launch.

North Korea has complained about similar leaflet drops in the past, including one last month. But the government in Seoul has not taken action so far to stop the activists.

Jee Abbey Lee contributed to this report, which was produced in collaboration with VOA's Korean Service.

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