North Korea said this was in retaliation against South Korean activists sending materials to the North
North Korea is allegedly sending white balloons carrying "garbage and filth" across the South Korean border, according to Seoul officials. The balloons have been found in eight of nine provinces in South Korea.
The white balloons contain filth and garbage, with some carrying material which appears to be faecal matter, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
The South Korean military began noticing large white balloons arriving from the North on Tuesday night, according to the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). It added that over 150 balloons landed from across the border till Wednesday morning.
The JCS also released images of the balloons showing plastic bags carried by two giant translucent balloons. The packages were seen spilling scraps of plastic, sheets of paper, and dirt onto roads and sidewalks. Toilet paper, dark soil and batteries were among the contents of the bags.
The authorities have alerted the residents in the northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, warning them against touching the "unidentified objects." They have also been told to avoid outdoor activities. The packages risk damaging residential areas, airports and highways, the JCS added.
Both countries have used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in the 1950s.
According to North Korean state media KCNA, this was to retaliate against South Korean activists who sent materials to the North – including propaganda leaflets, food, medicine, radios and USB sticks containing South Korean news and television dramas - to North Korea. All these materials are prohibited in North Korea.
"Mounds of wastepaper and filth will soon be scattered over the border areas and the interior of the ROK and it will directly experience how much effort is required to remove them," North Korea's vice-minister of Defence Kim Kang Il said in a statement to state media on Sunday.
"Scattering leaflets by use of balloons is a dangerous provocation that can be utilised for a specific military purpose," said Kim Kang Il, North Korea’s Vice Minister of National Defense, KCNA reported on Sunday.
He accused South Korea of using psychological warfare" by scattering various dirty things near border areas, declaring that the North would take tit-for-tat action.
Though South Korea’s parliament banned such actions in 2020, the campaigners in the South, including defectors from North Korea, have long sent these materials through balloons, drones, and bottles floating down the cross-border river.
South Korea's military had earlier said it was investigating whether there were any North Korean propaganda leaflets in the balloons. "North Korea’s actions clearly violate international law and seriously threaten the safety of our citizens," it added. "All responsibility arising from the North Korean balloons lies entirely with North Korea, and we sternly warn North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and low-level actions."
