Seoul activists develop ‘smart balloons’ to send messages deep into North Korea

One Seoul-based organization has developed its technical expertise to create balloons capable of dispersing leaflets and digital speakers hundreds of kilometers across the border in the balloon war between North Korea and North Korean activists.

Built using 3D printers and components sourced website and often equipped with GPS- tracking, these so- called” bright balloons” may cost up to US$ 1, 000 each.

The mysterious party flys the balloons occasionally between spring and autumn when favorable winds blow north, mostly in the shadow of the sun. The aim is to cut cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over the funds Pyongyang, with the longer ranges today feasible. One bubble has reached China from the air.

One member of the group, known as” The Committee for Reform and Opening up of Joson,” claimed that while our expensive balloons are expensive, they are” a hundred times more powerful than balloons flown by other groups.” Another name for North Korea is” joson.”

The group, which has about 30 primary members and is funded by people ‘ personal funds and donations, has no formerly disclosed its activities to the internet.

Balloon techniques have been at the forefront of the icy relationship between the two Koreas since late last month. North Korea, in recent years a unique deployer of bubbles, has sent more than 1, 000 southern- most replete with wastes and some with what appeared to be pet faeces.

That has increased conflict between the nations, which essentially continue to be at war after the Korean War ended in an armistice convention rather than a peace treaty between 1950 and 1953. For the first time since 2018, South Korea on Sunday resumed loudspeaker channels directed at the North.

Without any independent verification of where the balloons area or what the common North Korean would think of the contents, how successful they are is up for debate.

A next member of the group claimed that Pyongyang’s frustration over balloons from South Korea was encouraging, stating that it shows that protesters ‘ balloons and their loads are having an impact.

The team’s members declined to be identified because they were concerned about abuse from South Koreans against for activists, a potential assault by North Korean authorities, or sanctions by North Korean agents.