Residents near the inter-Korean border called on South and North Korea to halt hostile acts against each other Monday as tensions have been running high in the wake of the North’s massive sending of trash-carrying balloons into the South.

During a news conference held in front of the presidential office, a network of civic groups and residents residing near the inter-Korean border urged the government to crack down on acts of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North.

The North has sent nearly 1,000 balloons carrying trash into the South since Thursday in what it said was a tit-for-tat campaign against South Korean activists sending balloons carrying propaganda leaflets denouncing the North’s regime.

No human casualties were reported, but some balloons caused property damage, such as a broken windshield.

“Military clashes should be prevented at all costs. What is necessary now is to halt hostile acts so as to remove the possibility of military clashes and reopen the door for dialogue and peace,” the g
roups said in a statement.

“As North Korea’s distribution of trash came in response to leaflets sent toward the North, the solution to this situation lies not in expanding psychological warfare, such as resuming loudspeaker broadcasts, but in cracking down on and halting the distribution of leaflets toward the North,” they said.

In response to the North’s campaign, the South Korean government said it will take “unbearable” measures against the North, with speculations over resuming propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers along the border.

The unification ministry on Monday said it will not stop South Korean activists from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North, citing freedom of expression.

Source: Yonhap News Agency