North Korean defectors launch balloons containing 1,000 digital Bibles across border

A group of North Korean defectors has launched hundreds of balloons containing 1,000 flash drives loaded with portions of the Bible across the inter-Korean border.

Jeong Kwang-il, a North Korean defector who heads the nonprofit group No Chain, went to an area of South Korea's Gyeonggi Province on Sunday to launch 350 balloons containing 1,000 USB drives and leaflets with Bible excerpts.

"We confirmed by GPS all balloons dropped in the Mount Kumgang area," said Jung, as reported by United Press International.

The defector said that the latest launch marks the 10th time his group has sent balloons across the border since June.

"This launch is the last one for the year. Because the direction of the wind is due to change," he added.

The flash drives were donated by students at Yale University, University of Alabama at Birmingham and high school students in Wyoming, the defector revealed.

Apart from Bible excerpts, the flash drives also include photos and videos that were aimed at informing North Koreans about the reality of the free world and warn them about the dangers of North Korea's nuclear program.

Jung, 54, said that he was sentenced to three years in a North Korean prison for a crime he did not commit.

He is now based in Seoul, and he often sends USB drives, SD cards and other devices carrying Hollywood movies, South Korean television shows and testimonials from defectors across North Korea's borders.

The defector reportedly uses helium balloons, human smugglers and helicopter drones to disseminate the devices.

"In recent memory, we've had the Jasmine Revolution [in Tunisia], and the Arab Spring," he told The Atlantic last year.

"How come none of that is happening in North Korea? The reason is simple: Because the country's such a closed-off country, information-wise. People don't know that the situation they're in is truly a terrible one. ... We want to break that ignorance," he added.

Rough estimates have indicated that about 10 percent of North Korean households own a computer, while up to half own a Chinese-made portable media player known as a "notel."

Christian charity Open Doors has ranked North Korea on its World Watch List as "the most difficult" place in the world to be a Christian. The organization has estimated that around 70,000 Christians are currently imprisoned in the nation's labor camps.

Meanwhile, a report from the U.S. State Department has indicated that about 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, some of whom are incarcerated for religious reasons, are believed to be held in prison camps in remote areas under horrific conditions.