Here are comments I shared with a reporter who was doing a story on the recent back-and-forth balloon launch activity by the North Korean government (sending human waste and trash) and some balloon launchers in South Korea who publicly announce the details of their launches:

I think it’s helpful to distinguish between balloon launching and public announcements about balloon launches. What the North Korean government and some South Korean balloon launchers have in common is that making the public aware of their launching activities is at least as important to them and their goals as the launches themselves and the materials they are sending. Both groups make extensive use of media, launch eye-catching materials in eye-catching balloons, and employ rhetoric that at times flies higher than the balloons themselves.

But of course it doesn’t have to be like this. If the goal is to reach North Koreans outside of the mediation of the North Korean government, which in my opinion should indeed be the goal of balloon launching, then the best launch is the one that remains undetected.

For some groups, balloon launching is political theatre, which is why they launch on public holidays and then heavily promote their launches. But when launchers show photos of what they launch, and when they announce when and where they launched, it’s like providing a map to North Korean authorities, who can then use these public statements to locate the materials which were launched and to round up any North Koreans who found and took the materials. Units in the North Korean military are mobilized to respond to launches once those launches are detected. So North Koreans who find the materials and take them home likely have no idea that the North Korean government already knows and is actively searching for them. Their safety is compromised completely outside of their awareness.

In order to keep potential recipients safe, launches should be separate from public advocacy and the public theatre of launching. Launch as quietly as possible. Say nothing. Post no photos, no launch data about how many balloons were sent from where carrying what. Give North Koreans the best possible opportunity to simply find what you sent without anyone already tracking them.

Some people may say the best launch is no launch, and situations like what we see at the present time will no doubt result in various parties calling for a renewed ban on launching. But balloon launches are one of very few technologies that when employed responsibly enable ordinary North Koreans access to a world not mediated by their government. When launches are done safely and quietly—using non-flammable gas, biodegradable balloons, intelligent projection and tracking tools to ensure success—they don’t make the news, and they don’t ratchet up the danger. Ordinary North Koreans benefit, and the North Korean government is none the wiser. Unfortunately, you can’t make a law that requires balloon launchers to examine their own hearts and motives, but the public can decide what groups are supported, and they can influence how groups act. Local police can enforce local laws that are already on the books so that launches are not political theatre but are efficient, effective, safe ways for Koreans to communicate without the interference of governments, as is every human being’s right.

As regards our own work at Voice of the Martyrs Korea, we ourselves don’t comment publicly about what we are or are not doing, or have done, or will do, in the field, in order to ensure the safety of of all concerned and the success of our operations. What we can say is that every year we get 40,000 Bibles into North Korea as quietly as possible, using a wide variety of methods, always focused on the safety of our neighbors here and the safety of potential recipients in North Korea. They have a right to know, and we have a responsibility to help them exercise that right as safely as possible. That requires us to separate our public advocacy role from our field work. Both are vital, but they should never be concurrent.