North’s Trash Tactics: 200 balloons of rubbish sent to rattle South Korea

Seoul, Sep 7 (EFE).- North Korea has launched nearly 200 balloons filled with debris into South Korean territory, military sources said Saturday.

The latest in the North’s oft-repeated trash tactics signals a further deterioration in tiesss between the two neighbors, who have technically been at war for seven decades.

The balloon launches began Friday night and continued into Saturday morning, according to a statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

No hazardous materials were found, and the balloons contained mostly paper, plastic, and bottles.

This launch follows the release of around 400 balloons on Wednesday and Thursday, marking the first such incident in nearly a month.

Since May, Pyongyang has sent over 3,000 balloons filled with trash in response to anti-regime propaganda leaflets launched by South Korean activists via balloon.

In response to these provocations and attempts by North Korea to interfere with the GPS systems around the Korean peninsula, Seoul suspended a 2018 treaty aimed at reducing military tensions in border areas on June 4.

Following the suspension, the South Korean military reinstalled loudspeakers along the border, broadcasting propaganda critical of the North Korean regime in retaliation for the balloon launches.

Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest point in years, with Pyongyang declaring Seoul its primary enemy at the start of 2024 and ruling out any possibility of peaceful reunification.

In August, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced the first change in the nation’s reunification policy in three decades, making the improvement of human rights in North Korea a priority.

Experts believe this new approach will provoke further hostility from Kim Jong-un’s regime. EFE

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