North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash, excrement, and other waste materials across the heavily fortified border into South Korea on Wednesday.
The North Korean government claimed these balloons were “gifts of sincerity” in retaliation for South Korean activists regularly sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, and USB sticks loaded with K-pop music videos into North Korean territory.
South Korea’s military reported that by Wednesday afternoon, more than 260 balloons had been detected, most of which had landed on the ground, carrying animal feces and rubbish. Seoul condemned the act as “base and dangerous,” while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, slammed South Korea as “shameful and brazen” for criticizing the balloons while defending its citizens’ freedom of expression.
The South Korean military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to inspect and collect the objects, and an alert was issued warning residents to keep away and report any sightings to authorities. Additionally, North Korea allegedly attempted to jam GPS signals in South Korea early Wednesday morning, although no damage was reported.
Experts suggest that sending balloons is a far less risky tactic for North Korea than taking overt military action, as these “grey zone tactics” are more difficult to counter and hold less risk of uncontrollable military escalation. The incident brings to the fore the still ongoing tensions between the two Koreas. The two have become more and more disparate since their separation, and North Korea has made it a thing to routinely threaten to annihilate its neighbor.
The South Korean government previously sought to block such campaigns, especially after a 2014 incident when the North tried to shoot down balloons, triggering complaints from residents near the border. However, a ban on balloon launches introduced in 2021 was later ruled unconstitutional by a top court, citing the violation of freedom of speech.
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