North Korea resumed launching hundreds of trash-filled balloons into the South, Seoul’s military said Thursday, as back-and-forth Cold War-style tensions resume near the border. File Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (UPI) — North Korea floated hundreds of balloons across the border with South Korea on Thursday, Seoul’s military said, continuing its latest campaign for the second day in a row.
“Our military confirmed that North Korea had launched more than 420 garbage balloons from last night to early this morning,” Lt. Col. Lee Chang-hyun, spokesman for Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a press briefing.
“Since around 9 a.m. [Thursday], balloons have been launched again, so I emphasized to the public that they should be careful of falling loads, and if they see a fallen balloon, do not come into contact with it,” Lee said.
He added that around 20 balloons carrying paper and plastic bottles fell in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, with no hazardous substances detected.
It marked the first time in 25 days that North Korea has launched the balloons, ramping up the back-and-forth Cold War-style psychological warfare that has emerged along border areas in recent months.
North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of launches since early June, sending thousands of balloons carrying scrap paper, shredded clothing and manure into the South — including one that spilled trash on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s compound.
In response, South Korea started propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the DMZ in mid-July, blasting K-pop songs and South Korean news and information.
The broadcasts reportedly call for soldiers working in border areas to escape and include news of the defection of a North Korean diplomat from Cuba last year. South Korea’s military claims the speakers can be heard as far as 15 miles away.
A pair of North Koreans, including one soldier, defected across the inter-Korean border on two separate occasions last month, prompting speculation that the broadcasts may be having an impact.
The balloon launches come as U.S. and South Korean officials held high-level talks on North Korean deterrence on Wednesday in Washington, warning of the escalation of tensions by Pyongyang along the border.
“Participants shared assessments on the DPRK’s dangerous and irresponsible behavior, including its ongoing missile launches and continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” the allies said in a joint statement following a meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
“Both sides also shared concerns on the DPRK’s recent reckless and dangerous behaviors along the DMZ that raise the risk of inadvertent escalation on the Peninsula,” the statement added.
The United States and South Korea are currently staging a 13-day military amphibious landing exercise, which will continue until Saturday. The allies also concluded their annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercise last week.
Pyongyang frequently condemns the joint drills as preparation for an invasion and maintains that its own nuclear and weapons programs are a necessary form of deterrence.