North Korea has dropped no less than 150 balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and garbage within the South, prompting authorities to warn its residents to remain indoors.
South Korea’s army additionally cautioned the general public on Wednesday in opposition to touching the white balloons and the plastic baggage hooked up to them as a result of they comprise “filthy waste and trash”.
The balloons have been present in eight of 9 provinces in South Korea and are actually being analysed by related authorities.
North and South Korea have each used balloons of their propaganda campaigns because the Korean Struggle within the Nineteen Fifties.
The current incident comes days after North Korea mentioned it will retaliate in opposition to the “frequent scattering of leaflets and different garbage” in border areas by activists within the South.
“Mounds of wastepaper and filth will quickly be scattered over the border areas and the inside of the ROK and it’ll straight expertise how a lot effort is required to take away them,” mentioned North Korea’s vice-minister of defence Kim Kang Il mentioned in a press release to state media on Sunday.
Republic of Korea or ROK is the official title of South Korea whereas the North known as DPRK or the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea.
Late on Tuesday, residents residing north of the South’s capital Seoul and within the border area acquired textual content messages from their provincial authorities asking them to “chorus from outside actions”.
They have been additionally requested to file a report on the nearest army base or police station in the event that they spot an “unidentified object”.
Pictures shared on social media present baggage hooked up through string to white translucent balloons carrying bathroom paper, darkish soil, and batteries, amongst different contents.
Police and army officers are seen in a few of these pictures.
South Korea’s Yonhap information company reported that “a number of the fallen balloons carried what seems to be faeces judging from its darkish color and odour”.
South Korea’s army condemned the act as a “clear violation of worldwide legislation”.
“It significantly threatens the security of our folks. North Korea is solely accountable for what occurs as a result of balloons and we sternly warn North Korea to right away cease this inhumane and crass motion,” the army mentioned.
Along with anti-Pyongyang propaganda, activists in South Korea have launched balloons carrying amongst different issues, money, banned media content material, and even Choco Pies – a South Korean snack banned within the North.
Earlier this month, a South Korea-based activist group claimed it had despatched 20 balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB sticks containing Korean pop music and music movies throughout the border.
Seoul’s parliament handed a legislation in December 2020 that criminalises the launch of anti-Pyongyang leaflets, however critics have raised considerations associated to freedom of speech and human rights.
North Korea has additionally launched balloons southward that attacked Seoul’s leaders. In a single such launch 2016, the balloons reportedly carried bathroom paper, cigarette butts and garbage. Seoul police described them as “hazardous biochemical substances”.
With further reporting by Jake Kwon in Seoul
