“Greetings” from Pyongyang: Garbage balloon lands on presidential residence in Seoul

“Greetings” from Pyongyang
Garbage balloon lands on presidential residence in Seoul

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South Korea is broadcasting political messages and pop music to the border area to the north, while Pyongyang is sending balloons filled with garbage and liquid manure to the south. One of the flying objects is now hitting a particularly sensitive target.

According to South Korea, a balloon apparently filled with garbage from North Korea landed on the grounds of the presidential office in Seoul. The general staff in Seoul announced this according to the official Yonhap news agency. The balloon did not pose any chemical, biological or radiological hazards. According to media reports, the garbage balloon did not cause any damage.

North Korea had previously sent a number of balloons towards the border province of Gyeonggi, north of Seoul. The population was called upon not to touch crashed balloons and to report them to the police or military. According to South Korea, since the end of May North Korea has released more than 3,000 balloons filled with waste products and some with liquid manure towards South Korea, including 500 on Sunday alone.

The two Korean states have been using methods of psychological warfare for months. Just last Thursday, the South Korean government once again broadcast propaganda from its isolated neighbor via loudspeakers on the border. The military broadcasts both political messages and South Korean pop music via loudspeakers aimed at North Korea. The North Korean leadership sees such actions as a serious provocation.

After a temporary phase of de-escalation, the conflict on the Korean peninsula has become significantly more explosive again in the recent past. Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has been increasingly testing nuclear-capable missiles and other weapons. South Korea and the USA have meanwhile expanded their military cooperation.

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