North Korea resumed flying balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Thursday, the South’s military said, days after it vowed to respond to what it called repeated South Korean civilian leafleting campaigns in the North.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North was “launching [suspected] trash balloons aimed at the South once again”, adding they were currently floating across the border.
“Citizens are advised to be cautious of falling debris. If you find any fallen balloons, do not touch them and report them to the nearest military unit or police station,” it added.
Beginning in late May, North Korea has floated numerous balloons carrying waste paper, scraps of cloth, cigarette butts and even manure toward South Korea, saying they were in response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets to the North via their own balloons. No hazardous materials were found.
In response, South Korea suspended a 2018 tension-reduction deal with North Korea, resuming propaganda broadcasts briefly and front-line live-fire military drills at border areas.
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North Korean poop balloons and loudspeaker campaigns: how did the propaganda war start?
North Korean poop balloons and loudspeaker campaigns: how did the propaganda war start?
This is the eighth round of trash-carrying balloons launched by Pyongyang, which has already sent more than a thousand of the balloons south.
Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to respond to what she called new South Korean civilian leafleting activities. She said South Korean balloons have been found frequently at the North Korean border and other areas.
In her statement on Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong threatened new retaliatory steps, saying South Korean “scum” must be ready to pay “a gruesome and dear price.” That raised concerns that North Korea could stage physical provocations, rather than balloon launches.
South Korea’s military said on Wednesday it has boosted its readiness to brace for any provocation by North Korea. It said North Korea may fire at incoming South Korean balloons across the border.
