SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea resumed the release of balloons likely carrying garbage toward South Korea on Thursday, the South Korean military said, days after it vowed to respond to what it called repeated leafleting campaigns by South Korean citizens in the North.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the balloons flew north of Seoul on Thursday afternoon, about an hour’s drive from the border.
The report warns South Korean residents to be careful of falling objects and to report to authorities if they see balloons on the ground.
Since the end of May, North Korea has there were countless balloons floating who brought waste paper, scraps of cloth, cigarette butts and even manure to South Korea, saying they were in response to South Korean activists send political leaflets to the North via their own balloons. No hazardous substances were found.
In response, South Korea has a 2018 agreement to reduce tensions suspended with North Korea, briefly resuming propaganda broadcasts and conducting front-line live-fire exercises in border areas.
Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to respond to what she called South Korea’s new civilian activities, saying South Korean balloons have been regularly found on the North Korean border and other areas.
In her statement on Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong threatened new retaliatory measures, saying South Korean “scum” should be prepared to pay “a horrific and heavy price,” raising concerns that North Korea could resort to physical provocations instead of balloon launches.
South Korea’s military said Wednesday it has raised its readiness to brace for any provocation from North Korea, saying North Korea may fire at incoming South Korean balloons across the border.
