OAN Staff Avril Elfi
Wednesday, July 24, 2024 5:03 PM
Balloons full of garbage from North Korea have landed at South Korea’s presidential office and a nearby U.S. military base, disrupting some operations.
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South Korean authorities say more than 3,000 North Korean balloons have landed in the southern region since May.
Because it was unclear at this time what was in the balloon, authorities decided not to shoot it down as it headed for the presidential palace to prevent any damage. In the end, it was just trash, continuing North Korea’s trend of launching balloons in its “trash war” with South Korea.
In response, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has resumed loudspeaker broadcasts of programming and entertainment, including K-pop songs.
The balloons were stuffed with cigarette butts, abandoned batteries, fertilizer and other rubbish.
After South Korean authorities issued a public warning to be on the lookout for falling objects, a trash balloon believed to be from North Korea traveled south toward northern Gyeonggi province and was discovered at the Blue House on Wednesday.
“Today, in coordination with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we monitored trash balloons sent by North Korea and observed debris that had fallen in the area of the Blue House in Yongsan,” the Presidential Guard said in a statement later. “Response team analysis did not find any hazardous or contaminant materials.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) urged its citizens not to touch balloons and to report any suspicious objects to authorities.
“North Korea’s actions are a clear violation of international law and seriously threaten the safety of our people,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement after the recent balloon incident. “North Korea bears all responsibility arising from its balloons. We sternly warn North Korea to immediately cease its inhumane and low-level actions.”
North Korea claimed it sent the balloons south in retaliation for a South Korean campaign of sending balloons bearing “anti-Kim Jong Un propaganda” slogans critical of North Korea.
South Korean activists are said to have been sending balloons containing material critical of the North Korean dictator for a long period of time.
Additionally, people were sent USB sticks containing K-pop music and Korean TV shows, despite this being strictly prohibited in closed areas.
Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, claimed that dozens of balloons, “dirty leaflets” and other materials sent from South Korea had been found again in North Korea, particularly near the border.
She went on to note that despite repeated warnings from North Korea, South Korean activists “have not stopped this crude and dirty act.”
In a “stern warning” issued by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo Jong said “a situation that cannot be overlooked appears to be approaching”, adding that there would be a “terribly high price” to pay that could change South Korea’s “countermeasures” against the North.
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