North Korea on Sunday sent a new batch of balloons likely carrying debris to South Korea, which vowed to deploy “large-scale” loudspeaker broadcasts in response.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons crossed the border on Sunday morning and flew north of Seoul, the South Korean capital. reported the Associated Press news agency.
The military has said it will expand loudspeaker broadcasts along all key stretches of the 248-kilometer (155-mile) border between the Koreas, the news agency said.
“The North Korean military’s actions to escalate tensions may lead to serious consequences,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, according to AP. “The responsibility for this kind of situation lies entirely with the North Korean government.”
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the loudspeaker broadcasts were expected to begin at 1 p.m. local time on Sunday. The broadcasts played K-pop songs and news stories, according to South Korean state media Yonhap reported.
The move comes days after South Korea resumed propaganda broadcasts from the front for the first time in 40 days in response to earlier balloon launches by North Korea, AP reported.
North Korea began launching trash balloons in late May, deepening already strained relations with South Korea. Trash balloons in previous launches did not carry hazardous materials, but they did carry cigarette butts, waste paper, vinyl and plastic bags.
South Korea temporarily turned on loudspeakers along the border in early June in response to the first wave of balloon launches.
The initial launches were apparently in response to a campaign by South Korean activists and North Korean defectors who released balloons carrying anti-North Korean leaflets and other items, AP reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, warned last week that South Korean “scum” must be prepared to pay “a horrific and heavy price” for the leafleting activities, AP added.
The loudspeaker explosions were halted earlier in 2018 after a rare meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Reuters reported.
Experts told AP that the propaganda broadcasts could demoralize North Korean troops and residents on the front lines and directly contradict North Korea’s efforts to restrict access to outside news.
The Associated Press contributed.
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