- North Korea launches debris-filled balloons into South amid propaganda war
- Seoul has condemned the balloon attack as “low class” and “inhumane”
Kim Jong Un has released at least 260 white balloons filled with “waste and garbage” over South Korea, as North Korean officials aim to teach them a lesson amid an endless propaganda war.
The balloons appeared to have carried various items of trash, including plastic bottles, batteries, toilet paper and what is believed to be manure, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.
As a result, authorities have urged South Korean residents to stay home after balloons began falling from the sky on Tuesday night.
South Korea’s military said unidentified objects had been seen near the demilitarized zone, the heavily fortified border separating the two Koreas.
The balloons, which were found in eight of South Korea’s nine provinces, are now being analyzed and investigated to see if they contained North Korean propaganda. bbc reported.
A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, carrying various objects, including what appeared to be garbage and excrement, is seen over a rice field in Cheorwon, South Korea, on Wednesday.
South Korean soldiers collect balloons allegedly sent by North Korea, found on a hill in Pyeongtaek on Wednesday. About 200 such balloons have been discovered so far across the country, military and police sources said, adding that they mainly contained garbage and other debris.
The image shows unidentified objects believed to be North Korean propaganda material attached to balloons on a street in Chungnam province.
This comes just days after Kim Kang-il, North Korea’s vice defense minister, warned that the regime would retaliate in response to anti-North Korean leaflets dropped across the border by South Korean activists.
“Piles of used paper and garbage will soon be scattered across the border areas and interior of the Republic of Korea and you will experience firsthand how much effort is required to eliminate them,” Kang Il said in a statement to state media on Sunday.
Republic of Korea, or ROK, is the official name of South Korea.
The Seoul JCS added that the North’s actions “clearly violate international laws and seriously threaten the security of our people.”
“We sternly warn the North to immediately stop its inhumane and low-class actions.”
The image shows debris from a balloon allegedly sent by North Korea, in Seoul on Wednesday.
In another sign of tensions between the war-divided rivals, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been launching large quantities of garbage balloons toward the South since Tuesday night in apparent retaliation. against South Korean activists for flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
South Korean media shared images showing garbage bags tied to large white balloons hanging over fields and roads, as well as the aftermath of the landings, where what appeared to be feces had exploded on the ground.
Historically, North and South Korea have used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in the 1950s.
North Korean defectors have been known to send balloons to the northern side containing anti-regime leaflets and have also reportedly sent USB flash drives containing Korean pop music and videos, which are banned in North Korea’s communist regime.
Seoul parliament passed a law in December 2020 that banned the release of anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
This comes after Kim Jong Un’s latest satellite launch failed on Monday after a video shared by South Korea claimed to show the moment the satellite, attached to a spiky white rocket, exploded shortly after takeoff.
North Korea admitted that the launch had exploded in a fireball before falling into the Yellow Sea just minutes after takeoff.
The launch, seen by analysts as a significant step in the nuclear-armed country’s space race, was the latest attempt since North Korea launched its first spy satellite into orbit in November.
