North Korea launching more suspected trash balloons: Seoul military
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South Korean officials clean up the contents of a trash-carrying balloon sent by North Korea after it landed on a street in Seoul on July 24.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL - North Korea is launching more balloons believed to be carrying trash southwards, South Korea’s military said on Aug 10, the latest in a series of border barrages that have ignited a tit-for-tat propaganda war.
North Korea has sent thousands of trash-filled balloons southwards since May, saying they are retaliation for propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists.
The latest launch comes as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North recently announcing the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launchers to its southern border.
The nuclear-armed North was “again launching (suspected) trash balloons aimed at the South,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement late on Aug 10.
It advised the public to refrain from touching the balloons and to report them to the authorities.
In July, balloons launched by Pyongyang hit the South Korean presidential compound in the capital
In response to the balloon barrages, Seoul has resumed propaganda broadcasts along the frontier, suspended a tension-reducing military deal and restarted live-fire drills in some border areas.
On Aug 8, Seoul’s military said a suspected North Korean had defected to the South across a de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, with some experts suggesting the decision may have been influenced by the South’s resumed propaganda broadcasts, which include news reports as well as K-pop content.
