Defectors send anti-N.K. leaflets via air on Kim's funeral day

PAJU, South Korea, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- About 50 North Korean defectors launched balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist state Wednesday, as the regime held a state funeral for its late leader Kim Jong-il. The activists from two defector groups -- Fighters for Free North Korea and the NK People's Liberation Front -- launched 200,000 leaflets from Imjingak pavilion in the northern border city of Paju that urged their compatriots in the North to "rise up" against the Pyongyang regime. Activists in the South have frequently sent propaganda leaflets across the border, condemning Kim Jong-il and calling for an uprising against him. On Wednesday, the launch came as North Korea held a state funeral for its late leader, who died of heart failure on Dec. 17, according to North Korean media. "We decided to send the leaflets to call for reform and openness in North Korea, where nothing has changed even since the death of Kim Jong-il," said Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for Free North Korea. "Just as a wave of democracy swept across the Arab world, North Koreans must also campaign for democracy." The North Korean regime is known to have a tight grip on its population of 24 million, leading analysts to rule out any chance of a popular uprising. Pyongyang has frequently threatened retaliation for the South's propaganda activity. Also borne aloft by the 10 balloons were 1,000 US$1 bills, the activists said. A few of the balloons popped, however, soon after being released, scattering their cargo over the pavilion. (END)