North Korea sends balloons with "garbage and excrements" towards the South
The South Korean General Staff warned of the dumping of unidentified objects among which there could be excrement and asked residents not to go outside.
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(AFP) North Korea sent balloons with bags full of garbage, toilet paper and alleged animal feces towards the border areas of South Korea, local media reported this Wednesday.
The South Korean press collected numerous photographs of white balloons tied to garbage bags full of waste and what appear to be excrement. At the weekend, North Korea had warned that it would cover the border areas of its southern neighbor with "piles of waste paper and dirt."
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that they had observed "unidentified objects, believed to be North Korean propaganda pamphlets" in the border area of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.
This photo taken by South Korea's Defense Ministry between the night of May 28 and 29, 2024, and released on May 29, shows unidentified objects believed to be North Korean propaganda material tied to balloons in a Chungnam province street. North Korea launched alleged anti-South Korean
(Photo by Handout / South Korean Defense Ministry / AFP)
"Citizens should refrain from engaging in outdoor activities, coming into contact with unknown objects and reporting them to the nearest military base or the police," he said in a statement. The military command assured that Pyongyang's actions "clearly violate international law and seriously threaten the security of our people." He also said some balloons were carrying trash. "We strongly warn the North to immediately stop these inhumane and low-class actions," he added.
On Tuesday night, Gyeonggi Province issued an alert message to residents asking them to avoid leaving their homes and reporting North Korean objects to the military.
Since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) with an armistice, the two Koreas remain technically at war and are separated by a demilitarized zone.
South Korean activists often launch balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and money into territory controlled by Kim Jong Un. Such propaganda campaigns have angered Pyongyang, which on Sunday warned of retaliatory measures, according to the official KCNA agency.
"Mounds of used paper and garbage will soon be scattered across the border areas and interior of the DRC (South Korea)," Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il said in a statement.
It is not the first time that Pyongyang has launched propaganda towards the South, but the methods this time are peculiar, said Cheong Seong-chang, an expert at the Sejong Institute.
"Bags full of toilet paper, garbage and Chinese batteries were found," he told AFP. Some witnesses also pointed out that "a distinctive smell came out of the bag." "It is likely that they sent feces as well," he added.
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