Seoul sends hepatitis B vaccines to Pyongyang, halts flying propaganda leaflets


The South Korean government has been taking a more “flexible” approach to North Korea since Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik took office in September.

The Unification Ministry said Tuesday it had finished sending 1 million hepatitis B vaccines for North Korean children with the help of international aid group Caritas Germany and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. The vaccinations are worth 1.06 billion won ($942,000).

The South Korean government’s sending of vaccines is another sign of the easing of aid restrictions put in place after Pyongyang’s deadly attacks on Yeonpyeongdo last year, killing two marines and two civilians.

The government’s apparent move to ease South-North tension is also evident in changes in South Korea’s psychological warfare measures.

According to local news reports, the South’s psychological warfare division stopped sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets months ago.

Seoul’s provision of vaccines and halt of propaganda leaflets follows the government’s authorization last week to resume $6.94 million worth of medical aid to Pyongyang through the World Health Organization.

An unnamed military source was quoted as saying that the leaflet program has been put on hold after the project elevated tension between the two Koreas earlier this year. It also said that the cessation of the leaflet program was part of the government’s plans to avoid aggravating North Korea, but that radio broadcasts continue for 15 hours each day.

In February, North Korea threatened to attack the location in the South where anti-Pyongyang leaflets are launched. February’s threat was the first of its kind since May 24, 2010, when the South Korean military resumed propaganda broadcasts along the border.

The broadcasts, silent after 2004, came back on as part of South Korea’s plans to step up psychological warfare against the North in response to the sinking of the warship Cheonan in March 2010.

The program of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets, along with relief goods including pre-cooked rice, was resumed soon after the North’s attack on Yeonpyeongdo.

The South Korean military had halted its leaflet program in 2000, although civic groups have sent their own leaflets since.

Since Yu took the helm of the Unification Ministry, the South Korean government appears to be loosening its “May 24 measures,” which banned all exchanges and cooperation with the North after the Cheonan was sunk.

Yang Moo-jin, a North Korean expert at South Korea’s University of North Korean Studies said the series of appeasement gestures from South Korea is a positive sign for improvement in inter-Korean relations. But he said it was not yet completely clear whether the South really wants to talk with the North.

“If Seoul keeps this stance with a continued support for the North, it can positively lead to a third denuclearization talk and a third North Korea-U.S. high-level talk possibly late this year. In a broad sense, it can be viewed as part of South Korea’s efforts to create an atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea,” Yang told The Korea Herald.

“But it is premature to say this kind of gesture delivers a clear message that Seoul wants to talk seriously. The South should take actions, for example, proposing a working-level South-North Red Cross talk,” he said.

Dongguk University assistant professor of North Korean Studies Kim Yong-hyun said, “it can be seen as a softening of policies toward North Korea, and it is an area where the (South) government can show intent (to ease tension) with an action.”

“Immediate results can’t be expected, but as it is one of the areas the North is most sensitive about, my opinion is that it will be received positively in the North.”

By Kim Yoon-mi and Choi He-suk
(yoonmi@heraldcorp.com), (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)