South Korean activist Park Sang-hak yesterday said that he would launch balloons carrying DVDs of Sony Pictures’ The Interview toward North Korea to try to break down a personality cult built around North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The comedy depicting an assassination attempt on Kim is at the center of tensions between North Korea and the US, with Washington blaming Pyongyang for hacking attacks on Sony. Pyongyang denies that and has vowed to retaliate.
Park said he would start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with the movie by balloon in North Korea as early as late this month.
Photo: AFP
Park, a North Korean defector, said he is partnering with the US-based nonprofit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USBs of the movie with Korean subtitles.
Park said foundation officials plan to visit South Korea later this month to hand over the DVDs and USBs, and that he and the officials would then try to float the first batch of the balloons if weather conditions allow.
“North Korea’s absolute leadership will crumble if the idolization of leader Kim breaks down,” Park said by telephone.
If carried out, the move is expected to enrage North Korea, which expressed anger over the movie. In October, the nation opened fire at giant balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets floated across the border by South Korean activists, triggering an exchange of gunfire with South Korean troops.
However, it is not clear how effective the plan would be, as only a small number of ordinary North Korean citizens are believed to own computers or DVD players.
Many North Koreans would probably not risk watching the movie, as they know they would get into trouble if caught.
Owning a computer requires permission from the government and costs as much as three months’ salary for the average worker, according to South Korean analysts.
Not everyone supports sending balloons into the North, with liberals and border town residents in South Korea urging the activists to stop.
North Korea has long demanded that South Korea stop the activists, but Seoul refuses, citing freedom of speech.
Park said the ballooning would be done clandestinely, with the pace picking up in March when he expects the wind direction to become more favorable.
Calls to the Human Rights Foundation yesterday were not immediately answered.
The foundation says on its Web site that it works with North Korean defectors to use hydrogen balloons to send material across the border, as well as smuggling items through China, and broadcasting radio transmissions to reach those who own illegal shortwave radios.
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