North Korea warns of escalation after alleged South Korean drone leaflet drops

North Korea has announced that it may place troops on combat alert along its border with South Korea in response to alleged drone activity by the South. The statement was issued by North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, claiming that South Korean drones flew over Pyongyang on October 3, 9, and 10, dropping propaganda leaflets.

According to the North Korean government, these drones distributed material critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which included messages such as “Compare the food you can buy” and “North Korea’s economy is falling into hell.” North Korea’s state-run news agency later published images of the drones and the leaflets.

However, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff dismissed the claims, asserting that no such drone activity took place. Despite this, North Korea responded with heightened military rhetoric. The Foreign Ministry warned South Korea that if provocations continued, the situation could escalate significantly. The statement emphasized that North Korea’s military, including offensive capabilities designed to target South Korea’s military infrastructure, would be on standby to respond to any provocation.

The Foreign Ministry also signaled that North Korea's General Staff and Ministry of War were preparing for potential retaliation, focusing on offensive means to maintain a strong presence in the southern border areas.

The conflict over propaganda balloon drops has escalated in recent years. South Korean activists and defectors have often used balloons to send anti-North Korean messages and media, including K-pop songs and South Korean TV shows, into the isolated country. These balloons, sometimes equipped with GPS trackers, have traveled hundreds of kilometers into North Korea. In retaliation, North Korea has sent over a thousand balloons filled with garbage and worms into South Korea since May 2023.

This escalating exchange of provocations follows years of tensions regarding cross-border messaging. In 2020, South Korea passed a law banning the distribution of anti-North Korean leaflets, a move that many activists opposed. In 2021, South Korea’s Constitutional Court overturned this law, citing it as an excessive restriction on freedom of expression.

Tensions have been further compounded by North Korea’s drone incursions into South Korean airspace, including a 2022 incident where five North Korean drones crossed into South Korean territory.

This ongoing exchange between the two nations highlights the deepening hostility over propaganda, cross-border communications, and military readiness.