North Korea sends trash balloons to South Korea again

North Korea has once again sent balloons filled with rubbish to South Korea, the South Korean army said on Saturday June 1, the day after a warning from Seoul on retaliatory measures if Pyongyang continued this operation. Earlier this week, North Korea sent some 260 balloons containing waste, including used batteries, cigarette butts and animal feces, to the South, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Seoul condemned this action described as “low floor”and South Korea’s Unification Ministry warned Friday of countermeasures if Pyongyang does not stop these provocations “irrational”. The South Korean General Staff advised the public not to touch these waste balloons and to report them to authorities.

The Seoul municipality also sent an alert message to residents on Saturday about the presence of a “unidentified object believed to be North Korean propaganda leaflets”. The object was “detected in airspace near Seoul and is currently being processed by the military”according to the municipality, which advised residents against “outdoor activities”.

Pyongyang said earlier this week that its balloons were aimed at responding to the sending into its territory of balloons loaded with propaganda leaflets against leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has long been exasperated by these actions carried out by southern activists. -Koreans, who sometimes also send money, rice or USB keys of South Korean television dramas. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik assured Saturday that it is “humanitarian aid balloons”.