[Exclusive] Moon Administration's Absurd Claim of 'COVID-19 Spread via North Korea Leaflets'... Distributed to Foreign Embassies

'Cited in leaflet on North Korea infectious disease spread' explanation material
Unscientific claims... 'Defector comments' IP from Eastern Europe
Forced enactment of leaflet ban law... Beneficiary is North Korea

The Moon Jae-in administration officially stated the absurd claim that "COVID-19 virus could be introduced into North Korea through leaflets sent to the North" in an official document, and it has been confirmed that this was distributed to foreign embassies in South Korea. This was an attempt to justify the enactment of the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act, which prohibits the distribution of leaflets to North Korea, by using fake news. However, since this claim is unsubstantiated and unscientific, it has been criticized as a diplomatic embarrassment.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 16th, the Ministry of Unification distributed explanatory materials on the amendment of the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act, commonly called the "Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act," to foreign missions in South Korea in December 2020. At that time, there were 113 diplomatic missions in South Korea (currently 115), and it is estimated that materials were sent to 46 relevant missions, including the "Korean Peninsula Club," which concurrently serves as ambassadors to North Korea, and the "Pyongyang Club," which has separate missions in North Korea.

A Ministry of Unification official explained, "It is not confirmed by what criteria or exactly how many places the materials were distributed at that time," adding, "It seems the explanatory materials were distributed due to international interest in the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act."

Unsubstantiated 'Virus Spread' Claim...Specified in Government Materials

North Korean Defector Group Flying Leaflets to North Korea
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

According to the explanatory materials obtained by this outlet, the Ministry of Unification wrote that along with the reasons for the law amendment, "Some defectors instigated the spread of COVID-19 into North Korea by sending COVID-19 contaminated goods, thereby causing a strong backlash from the North."

At that time, the government and ruling party pushed through the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act in the National Assembly after a landslide victory in the 21st general election, receiving criticism from the international community for hindering efforts to improve North Korean human rights. Therefore, it is interpreted that they explicitly expressed concerns that leaflets, which are "goods contaminated with the COVID-19 virus," could spread the virus to North Korea in order to quell critical public opinion.

However, such claims are unscientific and lack any substantiation. Moreover, it has been confirmed that North Korea never issued an official stance linking leaflets sent by defectors to the spread of COVID-19 through state-run media such as the Korean Central News Agency.

A person who worked at a foreign diplomatic mission said, "I have never seen the Ministry of Unification distribute explanatory materials on a relevant bill to every diplomatic mission," adding, "Since it was a Ministry of Unification document, we could not inquire with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asking the Ministry of Unification was awkward because it would be disrespectful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is the counterpart in the procedure. Since it was not a matter involving the understanding of the parties concerned, we ultimately could not make additional inquiries and it was quietly dropped."

'Defector Virus Spread Instigation'...IP Records Show Eastern Europe

The claim that COVID-19 could spread through leaflets to North Korea dates back to March 2020. At that time, the internet media outlet "Seoul's Voice" reported, citing a whistleblower, that "some defectors are planning to obtain items used by confirmed patients and send them to North Korea by contaminating daily necessities with the virus in order to overthrow the North Korean regime." However, it added that "there is no solid evidence, so it is difficult to fully trust this."

The "defector community" mentioned in the report is currently either deleted or linked to overseas sites. This outlet checked the IP addresses of comments pretending to be defectors among the posts, and most were from Eastern European countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Romania. Therefore, it is difficult to consider them as "defectors residing in South Korea who can distribute leaflets to North Korea."

However, on May 31, 2020, when the Free North Korea Movement Alliance flew "Kim Jong-un condemnation" leaflets over the Gimpo area in Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of Unification began to claim that leaflets could spread COVID-19 to North Korea. This was triggered by North Korean Workers' Party Vice Director Kim Yo-jong's announcement on June 4 of the same year, stating that if measures to stop leaflet distribution were not taken, they would annul the inter-Korean military agreement or close the inter-Korean joint liaison office.

Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, and President Moon Jae-in [Image source=Yonhap News]

Six days after the statement, on the 10th, the Ministry of Unification filed a complaint with the police against Park Sang-hak, the head of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance, and initiated procedures to revoke the organization's corporate registration. At that time, a Ministry of Unification official explained in a closed briefing, "There are concerns that the items sent (to North Korea) via leaflets may not have undergone quarantine measures." This was an acknowledgment at the Ministry of Unification level of the unscientific claim that COVID-19 could be transmitted via leaflets.

The idea that the virus could spread through leaflets defies common sense. Professor Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease specialist at Korea University Hospital, stated, "It is hard to even imagine that a virus on the surface of a leaflet could survive the journey to North Korea," adding, "Even if the virus were alive on the leaflet, the balloon carrying the leaflet would be exposed to ultraviolet rays at high altitude, which would inactivate the virus. It is an unscientific claim."

However, around this time, key figures in the ruling party, such as former lawmaker Park Ji-won, repeatedly claimed that "distributing leaflets to North Korea is an inhumane act aimed at spreading COVID-19," and this baseless "instigation" became accepted as fact within the ruling party. Subsequently, Park was appointed director of the National Intelligence Service in July 2020, and the Democratic Party of Korea passed the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act unilaterally in the National Assembly plenary session in December 2020.

After the Inauguration of the Yoon Government... North Korea Blames South Korea for COVID-19 Introduction

North Korea's Kim Jong-un
[Photo by Yonhap News]

North Korea first reacted by claiming that COVID-19 spread due to leaflets after the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-youl government. In August last year, Kim Yo-jong argued at the National Emergency Epidemic Control Meeting, "The fact that the area near the front line was the initial outbreak site (of COVID-19) makes it impossible not to suspect South Korean elements," and insisted, "It is natural to view unusual items (leaflets and materials for distribution) as carriers of malicious viruses."

In response, the Ministry of Unification reversed its previous stance, calling North Korea's claim that leaflets are carriers of COVID-19 "baseless and absurd remarks." Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se recently criticized the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act in a foreign media interview, calling it an "absolute evil law."

An official from a North Korean human rights organization, who requested anonymity, said, "The Ministry of Unification created a pretext to ban leaflet distribution by citing 'concerns about infectious disease transmission,' which North Korea never mentioned and which is untrue," adding, "Not only did they tie up the leaflet card, which North Korea hates and reacts sensitively to more than the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, but they also specified unverified content in government explanatory materials. This should be corrected even now."