Balloons carrying Choco Pie sent to N. Korea
S Korea: North Korean refugees living in South Korea launched
balloons carrying cakes across the heavily fortified border Friday to
help their former compatriots celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday.
Most balloons dispatched across the frontier by activists carry
propaganda leaflets calling for the overthrow of the North's regime.
But on Friday about 20 large balloons released from Gangwha island
west of Seoul carried a total 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of Choco Pie --
a South Korean-made snack which is hugely popular among those North
Koreans who can acquire it.
"This is a token of our brotherly love for the people living in the
North," said Song Si-Yon, a police clerk in the North before she came
South in 2007.
"We hope this will help North Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year's Day
in a happier mood." Choco Pie, with marshmallow filling and chocolate
covering, is given out as a daily snack to more than 40,000 North Korean
workers at a Seoul-invested industrial estate at Kaesong in the North.
Last month, a different Seoul-based group called North Korea Peace
launched balloons carrying about 800 pairs of socks across the border to
the North, where they can be worn during the bitter winter or easily
exchanged for food. AFP |