North Korea prepares anti-South leaflets

North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border, denouncing North Korean defectors and South Korea, its state media said on Saturday, the latest retaliation for leaflets from the South as bilateral tensions rise.

Olivia Chan reports.

North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border.

Its state media said on Saturday (June 20) that enraged North Koreans are preparing to launch a quote "large-scale distribution of leaflets." This came as a retaliation after defectors in the South sent anti-Pyongyang propaganda, food and medicine across the border.

On Tuesday (June 16), Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office to show its displeasure against the defectors and South Korea for not stopping them launching leaflets.

It has also threatened military action.

South Korea's unification ministry, which is responsible for inter-Korean dialogue, said on Saturday that North Korea's plan to send leaflets was "extremely regrettable," and urged it to scrap the plan immediately.

A North Korean defector-led group said it had scrapped a plan to send hundreds of plastic bottles stuffed with rice, medicine and face masks to North Korea by throwing them into the sea near the border on Sunday (June 21).

The two Koreas, which are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty, have waged leaflet campaigns for decades.