North Korea has launched more than 200 balloons carrying trash and waste across the inter-Korean border, Seoul’s military said Wednesday, after the North warned of “tit-for-tat action” against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by the South’s activists.
As of 1 p.m., some 200 balloons had crossed the border to fall in various locations across the country since Tuesday night, reaching as far as the southeastern province of South Gyeongsang, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
It marked the largest amount of North Korean balloons sent into the South, compared with previous instances between 2016 and 2018, the JCS said, adding that it expects the figure to rise.
The fallen balloons appeared to have carried various pieces of trash, such as plastic bottles, batteries, shoe parts and even manure, a JCS official said, with military officials collecting the objects for a detailed analysis.
“These acts by North Korea clearly violate international law and seriously threaten our people’s safety,” the JCS said.
“(We) sternly warn North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and vulgar act.”
On Sunday, North Korea said it will scatter “mounds of wastepaper and filth” over the border areas in a “tit-for-tat action” against the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
The JCS advised residents in the areas not to touch the objects and report to nearby military or police authorities if they discover them, while warning the balloons could cause damage as they fall, noting damage to a vehicle and a roof of a house in 2016 due to such balloons sent by the North.
It said that it will come up with safety measures by working with the police and the government, noting that it is closely cooperating with the U.S.-led U.N. Command in charge of overseeing activities in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
For years, North Korean defectors in South Korea and conservative activists have flown the leaflets to the North via balloons to help encourage North Koreans to eventually rise up against the Pyongyang regime.
North Korea has bristled at the propaganda campaign amid concern that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to its leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has repeatedly called for an end to the leafleting campaign. The issue has long been a source of tension between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The North’s move comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang’s botched attempt Monday night to launch its second military spy satellite into orbit. The launch failed due to the explosion of the rocket during its first-stage flight, according to the North’s state media.
South Korea, the United States and Japan have condemned the latest launch, calling it a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North from any such launches using ballistic missile technology.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
