Jong Nam’s killing becomes propaganda weapon

Jong Nam’s killing becomes propaganda weapon

North Korean defectors in South Korea send leaflets into North Korea about the killing of Kim Jong Un’s brother, hinting at the possible involvement of Pyongyang in the murder.

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KUALA LUMPUR:
The killing of Kim Jong Nam is now being used as a weapon in the propaganda war between North Korea and South Korea.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, a group of North Korean defectors in South Korea have sent leaflets across the inter-Korean border to inform North Koreans of the totalitarian regime’s possible involvement in the death of leader Kim Jong Un’s half- brother.

The Fighters for Free North Korea told Yonhap they launched about 300,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets from Paju, north of Seoul, on Tuesday between 11pm and midnight.

“We will inform North Koreans of the act of brutality conducted by Kim Jong Un,” Park Sang Hak, a defector who leads the group, was quoted as saying.

The group said it also sent 2,000 one-dollar bills, 300 booklets, 500 USBs and 500 micro SD cards, along with the leaflets.

Jong Nam was killed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb13. Two women, a Vietnamese and an Indonesian, have been charged with the killing of Jong Nam. They allegedly smeared the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent on his face.

Malaysian police suspect eight North Koreans might be involved in the killing and want to question them. At least four are said to have fled Kuala Lumpur the day Jong Nam was killed.

When Malaysian police carried out an autopsy on the body, North Korea claimed Malaysia colluded with South Korea to manipulate the probe.

A diplomatic row erupted between Malaysia and North Korea, with the citizens of both nations being disallowed from leaving the countries until the row is resolved.

The North Korean defectors group regularly launches large balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang information into North Korea.

North Korea, too, regularly launches leaflets from across the border into South Korea.

The same Tuesday, for instance, about 6,000 North Korean propaganda leaflets were found in Incheon, west of Seoul, according to Yonhap.

They carried messages glorifying leader Kim Jong Un and criticising the annual joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, the report said.

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