North Korea has resumed a provocative action by dumping trash from the sky across the Demilitarized Zone into South Korea. The trash, released by timers attached to balloons, included items like plastic bags, cigarette butts, plastic water bottles, used paper and shoes, and compost. The South Korean military responded by sending chemical and biological terrorism response squads to inspect the payloads, although only garbage was found. The South Korean government issued a stern warning to North Korea to stop this operation, calling it a violation of international law and a serious threat to the safety of their people.
This unusual offensive by North Korea came shortly after Pyongyang accused North Korean defectors living in South Korea of scattering leaflets over its border counties and vowed to take “tit-for-tat action.” The defectors and conservative activists in the South had been sending balloons to the North carrying items like mini-Bibles, dollar bills, and leaflets criticizing the North Korean leadership. North Korea has reacted strongly to these actions before, shooting down balloons and retaliating by sending trash-filled balloons and insulting leaflets.
During the Cold War decades following the 1950-53 Korean War, the two Koreas engaged in psychological warfare by sending propaganda leaflets and broadcasts across the border. The tensions eased after a landmark summit in 2000 and reaffirmed in 2018, but North Korean defectors and activists continued their balloon operations, aiming to provide information to North Koreans and challenge the regime’s personality cult. However, this led to escalating tensions and retaliatory actions from North Korea, including shooting down balloons and sending trash-filled balloons across the border.
In response to these actions, South Korea enacted a law in 2021 banning the spreading of propaganda leaflets into North Korea. The government argued that the balloons only provoked North Korea and created trash in the South when some balloons failed to make it across the border. The law was later overturned by the South’s Constitutional Court, which deemed it an unconstitutional infringement on the freedom of speech. The issue of propaganda balloons continues to be a source of tension between the two Koreas, with North Korea’s recent trash-dumping operation being the latest chapter in this ongoing conflict.
The South Korean government sent a cellphone alert to residents living near the inter-Korean border to avoid outdoor activities and watch out for falling objects from the sky. The alert caused some confusion due to an auto-generated English phrase that read “Air raid preliminary warning,” which the government acknowledged as a glitch to be fixed. The South Korean military condemned North Korea’s actions as anti-humanitarian and dirty, emphasizing the need for North Korea to cease such activities. This incident highlights the persistent tensions and provocative actions between the two Koreas, stemming from decades of conflict and animosity.
