North Korea sends trash-carrying balloons again: Seoul military

Authorities earlier warned of more trash-filled balloons from North Korea, a potential response to the propaganda balloons sent by activists in the South

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South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear check the trash from a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2. Photo: Yonhap via AP

Published: 11:15pm, 8 Jun 2024Updated: 1:12am, 9 Jun 2024

North Korea again sent trash-carrying balloons towards the South on Saturday, Seoul’s military said, after anti-Pyongyang activists said they had dispatched balloons with leaflets against leader Kim Jong-un across the border.

“North Korea is again floating [suspected] balloons carrying trash towards the South,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, advising the public to refrain from touching the balloons if spotted and to report them to authorities.

The announcement came hours after Seoul’s military said it was on alert for possibly more trash-carrying balloons arriving from North Korea, a potential response to the propaganda balloons sent this week by activists in the South.

The Seoul city government, as well as the Gyeonggi province, also sent a similar text alert to residents on Saturday, warning about the balloons.

North Korea sent hundreds of balloons in two waves last week with bags of trash into the South, describing them as a response to anti-Pyongyang propaganda balloons sent the other way by South Korean activists.

A South Korean activist holds up a large poster with writing that translates as “Enemy of the people Kim Jong-un sent filth and trash to the South Korean people, but we the defectors send truth and love to our fellow North Koreans!” in Pocheon, Gyeonggi province, on Thursday. Photo: Handout / Fighters For Free North Korea / AFP

Pyongyang announced a halt to the balloons last Sunday but days later, a South Korean group called “Fighters for Free North Korea” said it on Thursday had sent 10 balloons with USB thumb drives containing K-pop music and 200,000 leaflets against the North’s leader Kim.