North Korea Launches More 'Trash Balloons' Towards South Korea As Anti-Pyongyang Broadcasts Resume

The North Korean balloon launches are threatening to increase tension in the Korean peninsula.

North Korea launched more balloons, likely carrying rubbish, towards South Korea on Sunday. This comes two days after South Korea resumed its anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border in retaliation for North’s repeated balloon campaigns.  

According to the Associated Press, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean balloons were flying north of the South Korean capital Seoul after crossing the border. People should be aware of falling objects and alert the police and military if they see any ballons fallen on the ground, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying.  

South Korea had previously warned that it would conduct loudspeaker broadcasts more extensively and take stronger measures if the North continued provocations such as these balloon launches, reported AP.

In June, South Korea’s Cabinet Council and President Yoon Suk Yeol approved a proposal to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering front-line military tensions. This was required for it to restart propaganda broadcasts and conduct front-line live-fire military drills in border areas amid intensifying tensions between the two countries.

Tension Rises In The Korean Penninsula

Numerous trash balloons have been launched by North Korea towards the South since late May. The balloons have reportedly dropped scraps of cloth, cigarette butts, waste batteries and even manure on South Korea, though they haven't caused major damage. North Korea has described this exercise as retribution for South Korean activists flying political leaflets into the country. Amid the back-and-forth of balloons, activists from South Korea, including North Korean defectors, have also flown out flash drives containing K-pop. 

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement on Tuesday that South Korean “scum” should be ready to pay “a gruesome and dear price” over the leafleting activities. She added that more South Korean leaflets were found in the country.

AP reported that North Korea views the leafleting as a major threat to its leadership, since the country restricts access to foreign news to most of its 26 million people.