SEOUL—We know that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is a very prickly sort of dictator, mercurial, narcissistic, and with very little sense of humor. (Remember when his hackers tore up Sony in retaliation for the 2014 Seth Rogen comedy The Interview?) But such vanity and pride may be a key source of vulnerability.
At least that’s what some North Korean defectors here believe as they wage what must be some of the most asymmetric warfare ever: their balloon-borne leaflets up against the arsenal of nuclear-tipped missiles that Kim holds like a club over the South, and potentially the United States as well.
“As long as Kim Jong Un continues to threaten South Korea with nuclear arms, we will continue to send leaflets,” declared Park Sang-hak, talking to foreign reporters here.