SEOUL: South Korea’s military on Saturday 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 South Korean activists, AFP reported.
The escalation began when South Korean activists launched balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives filled with K-pop music toward the North. In response, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons filled with garbage into South Korean territory, calling it a proportional retaliation.
Despite Pyongyang’s initial announcement to cease the balloon launches, South Korean activist groups continued their campaign. The “Fighters for Free North Korea” group defiantly sent balloons containing anti-regime leaflets and USB drives with K-pop music, while another group, comprised of North Korean defectors, included radios and a speech by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in their payload.
Jang Se-yul, the leader of the group on Saturday said his organization will not stop its campaign, “whether Kim Jong Un sends trash-carrying balloons again or not”.
Last week, the North Korean balloons landed in a number of locations in the South, and were found to be carrying garbage such as cardboard scrap, cigarette butts and waste batteries.
The South Korean military remains on alert, anticipating the possibility of further trash balloons descending across the border. North Korea had previously threatened to escalate the situation with even larger volumes of waste if additional leaflets were dispatched from the South.
In response to the trash balloon attack, South Korea suspended a 2018 military agreement with North Korea. Seoul condemned the balloon launches as a “low-class” act and warned of potential countermeasures deemed “unendurable” by Pyongyang.
This exchange of propaganda via balloons is not new; South Korean activists have long used this method to disseminate anti-regime messages, cash, and even entertainment content into North Korea. However, these actions consistently draw ire from the North Korean government, which views them as threats to its regime stability.
The activist group Kuensaem threw 500 plastic bottles near the border filled with rice, cash, and a USB drive containing a popular South Korean TV series. Despite criticism, the group’s leader emphasized their humanitarian intentions to assist North Koreans in need.
Tensions over such propaganda tactics have previously resulted in drastic measures, including North Korea severing official communication channels and demolishing a liaison office along the border in 2020. Last year, South Korea’s Constitutional Court invalidated a law criminalizing anti-Pyongyang propaganda, citing concerns about free speech.
The South Korean government is now facing the legal implications of restricting activist actions in light of the court ruling. Experts say there are now no legal grounds for the government to stop activists from sending balloons into North Korea.
South Korea’s unification ministry said on Saturday that the issue is “being approached in consideration” of the 2023 court decision.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed South Korea’s objections to the balloons. She maintained that North Koreans were simply exercising their freedom of expression.
