The South Korean military reported on Sunday, June 2, that North Korea had sent another 600 trash-filled balloons over the border. People wearing hazmat suits were observed gathering piles of trash that included anything from cigarette butts to pieces of cardboard and plastic.
Despite being labelled “irrational” and “low-class” by South Korea, the newest provocation from its nuclear-armed neighbour does not violate UN sanctions on Kim Jong Un’s isolated dictatorship, in contrast to the previous string of ballistic missile launches. Seoul claims that the balloon bombardment violates the terms of the armistice agreement that put an end to hostilities during the 1950–53 Korean War and has threatened to take serious countermeasures if the North does not stop.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea issued a warning to the public to avoid the trash mounds even though “no hazardous substances have been found.” Since Tuesday, Pyongyang has launched some 900 balloons southward with the most recent wave starting to arrive late on Saturday. As of around 10 am on Sunday, “approximately 600 balloons have been identified, with about 20 to 50 balloons per hour moving through the air”.
The balloons are landing in the northern provinces where almost half of South Korea’s population lives, which include Seoul, the country’s capital, and the nearby Gyeonggi area. “Our military is conducting surveillance and reconnaissance from the launch points of the balloons, tracking them through aerial reconnaissance, and collecting the fallen debris, prioritising public safety,” JCS said.
According to Yonhap, the National Security Council of South Korea is scheduled to convene on Sunday, June 2, to deliberate on a strategy to counter the balloons by reinstating loudspeaker propaganda efforts near the border with North Korea.
Pyongyang is enraged by South Korea’s previous broadcasts of anti-Kim propaganda into the North. Pyongyang declared earlier this week that its “sincere gifts” were a form of revenge for the propaganda-filled balloons that were sent into North Korea.
Additionally, activists in the South have crossed the border with their own balloons that are loaded with flyers, money, rice, or USB thumb drives that are loaded with K-dramas.
Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong — one of Pyongyang’s key spokespeople — mocked South Korea for complaining about the balloons this week, saying North Koreans were simply exercising their freedom of expression.
