(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) — North Korea is sending balloons carrying trash and manure to South Korea on Saturday, Seoul’s military said, after it launched hundreds of similar balloons across the inter-Korean border earlier this week.
As of 8:45 p.m., around 10 balloons sent from the North had been seen crossing the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and most of them flew to Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, according to the military.
“We are closely monitoring the situation, as more balloons are likely to come down,” a military official said.
North Korea sent around 260 balloons carrying trash and excrement to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday, after it warned of “tit-for-tat action” against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by the South’s activists.
This photo, provided by a reader on May 29, 2024, shows debris from what’s presumed to be balloons carrying trash and manure sent by North Korea that were found in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The Joint Chiefs of Staff advised people not to touch the objects and report them to nearby military or police authorities, and cautioned of possible damage from the balloons.
The Seoul city government also issued an emergency alert for safety, saying that unidentified objects presumed to be the North’s balloons were detected over the sky near Seoul.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Wednesday that the balloons were “sincere presents” for South Koreans who are crying for the guarantee for freedom of expression. She said her country will send rubbish “dozens of times” more than those being scattered in the North.
Seoul’s unification ministry warned Friday it will take “unendurably” painful measures against North Korea if it continues to stage “irrational” provocative acts.
The government may consider staging psychological warfare against North Korea, including military authorities’ resumption of loudspeaker broadcasting along the border or the sending of leaflets critical of the North’s regime.
North Korea intensified its provocations this week following the botched attempt to launch a spy satellite Monday. The country staged GPS jamming attacks in waters near South Korea’s northwestern border islands for the fourth straight day Saturday.
North Korea also fired a barrage of artillery from super-large multiple rocket launchers toward the East Sea on Thursday in a drill that it said was to demonstrate a resolve to conduct a preemptive strike against South Korea.
This photo, provided by a reader, shows a big balloon presumably sent by North Korea, found at a field in Yongin, 42 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 29, 2024. North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and other waste this week across the border with South Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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