South Korea uses leaflets

South Korea has been dropping leaflets into North Korea about protests in Egypt, a spokesman said on Friday, but doubts lingered it would trigger calls for change in the tightly controlled country.

As part of a psychological campaign, the South Korean military also sent food, medicines and radios for residents in a bid to encourage North Koreans to think about change, a conservative South Korean parliament member, Song Young-sun, said.

While Seoul's move could cause alarm in the North's leadership, Pyongyang's rigid refusal to respond to demands for change means its people will unlikely rise up to the type of protests against their leaders as in Egypt and Libya, analysts and officials said.

South Korea's defense ministry declined to confirm the move.