North Korea balloon offensive

Seoul-based activists develop tech to send messages deep into North Korea In the balloon warfare between North Korea and South Korean activists, one Seoul-based group has honed its tech expertise to develop balloons capable of dispersing leaflets and electronic speakers hundreds of kilometres across the border. Built using 3D printers and components sourced online and sometimes equipped with GPS-tracking, these so-called "smart balloons" can cost up to $1,000 each. Once or twice a month from spring to autumn, when favourable winds blow north, the secretive group flies the balloons - mostly under the cover of darkness. The aim is to drop cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over the capital Pyongyang, with the longer ranges now possible. One balloon has flown as far as China. Balloon paths The activists tracked some of their balloons with GPS "Our smart balloons are expensive but we think they're a hundred times more powerful than balloons flown by other groups," said one member of the group which is called "The Committee for Reform and Opening up of Joson". Joson is another word for North Korea. The group, which has some 30 core members and is funded by members' own finances as well as donations,