North Korea is sending more balloons containing trash and feces over its heavily fortified border into South Korea, the South Korean military said.
It comes just days after North Korea appeared to send at least 200 balloons containing waste across the border in retaliation for propaganda leaflets sent from the South.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik called it “unbelievably petty and low-grade behavior.”
North Korea has not yet commented on the latest batch of balloons, but on Thursday Deputy Defense Minister Kim Kang Il warned that waste paper and rubbish would be sent across the border so the South could realize the effort required to remove them.
The South Korean military has asked the public not to touch the balloons and to report them to authorities, according to a statement reported by the news agency on Saturday. Yonhap.
A public message asked people in the South Korean capital not to touch balloons “identified in the sky near Seoul” and to report them because they were “handled by the military.”
Other regional governments had been asked to send out similar messages, the Defense Ministry said.
Late Tuesday, residents began arriving Seoul and in the border region received text messages from provincial authorities asking them to “refrain from outdoor activities”.
They were also asked to report the incident to the nearest military base or police station if they noticed an “unidentified object.”
South Korean authorities said the bags “contained filthy waste and garbage” and were analyzed by relevant authorities.
Photos shared on social media show bags tied with string to white, translucent balloons containing items including toilet paper, dark soil and batteries.
Some of these photos show police and military officers.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that “some of the fallen balloons carried some feces, judging by their dark color and odor.”
The South Korean military condemned the act as a “clear violation of international law.”
“It poses a serious threat to the security of our people. North Korea bears full responsibility for what happens as a result of the balloons and we strongly warn North Korea to immediately stop this inhumane and egregious action,” the military said.
North and South Korea have both used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in the 1950s.
Recent incidents come days after North Korea said it would retaliate for the “regular distribution of leaflets and other waste” in border areas by activists in the South.
In addition to the anti-Pyongyang propaganda, activists in South Korea have launched balloons containing items such as cash, banned media content and even Choco Pies – a South Korean snack that is banned in the North.
Earlier this month, a South Korea-based activist group claimed it had sent 20 balloons containing anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives containing Korean pop music and music videos across the border.
The Seoul Parliament passed a law in December 2020 criminalizing the launch of anti-Pyongyang leafletsbut critics have raised concerns about freedom of expression and human rights.
North Korea has also launched balloons southwards attacking Seoul’s leaders.
In one such launch in 2016, the balloons reportedly carried toilet paper, cigarette butts and trash. Seoul police described them as “dangerous biochemical substances.”
