"President Moon has expressed concerns regarding propaganda leaflets [sent] to North Korea as a matter that could prompt accidental clashes," the official told the Yonhap News Agency.
The South Korean president has ordered the government to find ways to avoid clashes that could be prompted by the leaflets campaigns, the official added.
"The president explained past situations in which the North fired anti-aircraft guns towards balloons from the South carrying leaflets and then our military fired return shots," the official noted, according to the agency.
In July, Lee Eugene, the deputy spokesman of South Korean Unification Ministry, said that Seoul is ready to offer Pyongyang to launch the talks on the military issues and also hold the Red Cross negotiations. Part of the deal may also include mutual discontinuation of spreading propaganda at the borders of both countries, according to media reports.
Since the Korean War of 1950-1953, both North and South Korea organized a number of propaganda leaflets campaigns, using balloons as a distribution method. The Korean governments and military are currently not conducting such campaigns anymore, but a number of the South Korean non-governmental organizations still launch balloons with leaflets and materials, censored in North Korea, sending them across the Korean border. Despite strong objections from Pyongyang, Seoul has been hesitating to ban activists from such actions, as the move may be considered as violation of freedom of speech.
