(Handout, South Korean defense ministry)
The North Korean regime has again launched hundreds of garbage balloons towards South Korea and threatened more reprisals if Seoul “continues its psychological warfare”.
Relations between the two Koreas are going through one of the most difficult periods in recent years.
In recent weeks, Pyongyang has launched more than a thousand balloons full of waste, including cigarette butts, toilet paper and even animal excrement, towards the south, in response to the spread of propaganda against the North Korean regime by South Korean activists, in the form of balloons with flyers and USB keys.
According to the South Korean military, many of the balloons launched on June 9 encountered headwinds.
“At least 310 balloons were launched, but many remained in North Korea,” the General Staff said, adding that about fifty have fallen so far in South Korea.
“They contained waste paper and plastic, but no toxic materials,” he said.
On June 10, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and main government spokeswoman, said in a statement released by the official KCNA news agency that South Korea “will suffer further bitter humiliations.”
“Seoul must stop its psychological warfare, in the form of balloons and messages broadcast across the border on loudspeakers, if it wants to avoid harsh retaliation,” he added.
For years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have launched balloons towards the North with propaganda leaflets against the regime and USB keys containing, among other things, K-pop music.
In 2020 the South Korean parliament approved a law banning the sending of propaganda balloons to North Korea, but activists did not stop and in 2023 the provision was annulled by the constitutional court in the name of freedom of expression.
