North Korea is again flying balloons likely carrying trash toward the South, continuing a bizarre psychological warfare campaign amid growing tensions between the war-divided rivals, South Korea’s military said.
Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said Saturday that the winds could carry the balloons to regions north of the South Korean capital.
Seoul City Hall and the Gyeonggi provincial government issued text alerts urging citizens to beware of objects dropping from the sky and report to the military or police if they spot any unidentified flying objects.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage.
In recent weeks, Pyongyang has flown more than 2,000 balloons carrying waste paper, cloth scraps and cigarette butts toward the South in what it has described as a retaliation toward South Korean civilian activists flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
Pyongyang has long condemned such activities as it is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of leader Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian rule.
Forever blowing balloons
North Korea last flew balloons toward the South on 24 July, when trash carried by at least one of them fell on the South Korean presidential compound, raising worries about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities.
The balloon contained no dangerous material, and no one was hurt, Seoul’s presidential security service said.
South Korea, in reaction to the North’s balloon campaign, activated its front-line loudspeakers to blast broadcasts of propaganda messages and K-pop songs. Experts say North Korea hates such broadcasts because it fears it could demoralise front-line troops and residents.
The Koreas’ tit-for-tat Cold War-style campaigns are inflaming tensions, with the rivals threatening stronger steps and warning of grave consequences.
The resumption of the balloon campaign comes as North Korea struggles to recover from devastating floods that submerged thousands of homes and huge swaths of farmland in areas near its border with China.
