North Korea has resumed launching balloons, believed to be carrying trash, towards South Korea, Seoul’s military reported on Thursday, marking the latest episode in the ongoing balloon conflict between the two Koreas.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that North Korea was “launching (suspected) trash balloons aimed at the South once again,” noting that the balloons were currently drifting 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,” they added.
Seoul city authorities issued an alert to residents on Thursday, stating that “a suspected balloon from North Korea is confirmed to have entered the airspace of Northern Gyeonggi province. Citizens should be cautious of outside activities.”
This marks the eighth wave of trash-filled balloons launched by Pyongyang since late May.
The nuclear-armed North has sent over a thousand balloons southward, claiming it is a retaliation for balloons carrying anti-regime propaganda released by activists from South Korea.
In response to these trash balloons, Seoul has suspended a tension-reducing military agreement and resumed some propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers along the border. Additionally, live-fire drills have been conducted in certain border areas.
Last week, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stated that more “dirty leaflets” from South Korean “scum” had been found in the North’s territory along the border, warning that the South would pay “a very high price.” She further noted that North Korean military personnel were “now making an all-out search, throwing into fire and disposing of the found rubbish,” according to a statement from the official Korean Central News Agency.
