The South Korean army said on Saturday it was on alert over the possible arrival on Sunday of new balloons filled with rubbish sent by Pyongyang. Last week, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons filled with waste to the neighboring South.
Seoul’s armed forces are “closely and vigilantly monitoring” the situation due to “the possibility of new waste balloons landing around tomorrow”, their spokesperson told AFP.
Hundreds of aerostats filled with waste
In two waves last week, North Korea sent hundreds of aerostats filled with waste to the neighboring South, “sincere gifts” which Pyongyang said were intended to retaliate against the sending of balloons loaded with propaganda to the country by South Korean activists. On Sunday, Pyongyang announced it would stop its shipments.
But a few days later, a group of South Korean activists, Fighters for Free North Korea (“Fighters for a Free North Korea” in French) announced that they had sent 10 balloons to the North carrying 200,000 leaflets against the North’s number one -Korean Kim Jong Un and USB sticks containing South Korean K-pop music. However, North Korea has warned that it will respond with “waste paper and trash” in quantities 100 times greater if South Korean leaflets are sent.
Seoul announced the suspension of a military agreement with North Korea
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday suspended the entirety of a military detente agreement concluded in 2018 with North Korea, a few days after the sending of balloons by Pyongyang, “despicable provocations” according to Mr. Yoon . Its total suspension allows Seoul to resume live-fire exercises and relaunch propaganda campaigns against the North’s regime via loudspeakers along the border, which have always exasperated Pyongyang.