North Korean trash balloon lands on South Korean presidential compound

Trash carried by astatine slightest 1 North Korean balloon fell connected nan South Korean statesmanlike compound connected Wednesday, raising worries astir nan information of cardinal South Korean accommodation during North Korean provocations.

The rubbish that landed connected nan statesmanlike compound successful cardinal Seoul contained nary vulnerable worldly and nary 1 was hurt, South Korea’s statesmanlike information work said. While North Korea apt lacks blase exertion to driblet balloons connected circumstantial targets, immoderate experts opportunity South Korea should sprout down incoming North Korean balloons adjacent clip to protect awesome accommodation because they mightiness incorporate hazardous substances successful nan future.

North Korea’s latest balloon launches came days aft South Korea boosted its broadcasts of K-pop songs and propaganda messages crossed nan 2 countries’ heavy equipped border. Their tit-for-tat Cold War-style campaigns are inflaming tensions, pinch nan rivals threatening stronger steps and informing of sedate consequences.

Seoul officials earlier said North Korea utilized nan guidance of winds to alert balloons toward South Korea, but immoderate of nan past balloons had timers that were apt meant to popular nan bags of trash successful midair.

The information work gave nary further specifications astir nan rubbish recovered astatine nan statesmanlike compound. It refused to disclose whether President Yoon Suk Yeol was astatine nan compound erstwhile nan balloons were flying complete his office, a no-fly area successful South Korea.

If North Korea is recovered to person utilized timers aliases immoderate different instrumentality to deliberately dump trash connected nan statesmanlike office, it would induce a beardown consequence by South Korea. But experts opportunity dropping balloons connected selected crushed targets requires precocious exertion and that North Korea would surely deficiency specified an ability.

“Some of (the hundreds of balloons) launched by North Korea landed connected nan statesmanlike compound by coincidence. North Korea has nary exertion to precisely driblet balloons astatine definite targets,” said Jung Chang Wook, caput of nan Korea Defense Study Forum deliberation vessel successful Seoul.

Jung said that a GPS navigation instrumentality and a powerfulness strategy would request to beryllium attached to a balloon to make it autumn connected definite sites and that North Korea doesn’t person specified balloons. He said North Korea apt wanted nan balloons to autumn connected Seoul, astir an hour’s thrust from nan border, aft calculating factors for illustration nan weight of nan trash bags tied to nan balloons, nan measurement of aerial successful nan balloons and nan upwind conditions.

Lee Illwoo, an master pinch nan Korea Defense Network successful South Korea, said beardown winds successful Seoul would besides make it intolerable for North Korea to target definite places pinch balloons.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier Wednesday that North Korea had resumed floating balloons crossed nan border, nan 10th specified motorboat since precocious May.

The much than 2,000 North Korean balloons discovered successful South Korea successful nan past weeks carried wastepaper, scraps of cloth, cigaret butts and moreover manure. North Korea has said it was responding to South Korean activists who person scattered governmental leaflets crossed nan separator via their ain balloons.

North Korea’s balloons haven’t caused immoderate awesome harm but person raised information jitters among group worried it could usage specified balloons to driblet chemic and biologic agents.

South Korea has avoided shooting astatine nan balloons because of imaginable harm caused by falling bullets and nan chance that nan balloons mightiness incorporate hazardous substances.

Trending Now

Lee said South Korea should still sprout down North Korean balloons successful separator areas because attacking them complete nan populous Seoul area would beryllium excessively risky if they incorporate vulnerable items for illustration biologic agents. But location are worries that doing truthful could origin skirmishes pinch North Korea. Jung said South Korea could usage precocious developed laser weapons to intercept North Korean balloons.

Experts opportunity North Korea considers leafleting activities by South Korean civilian groups a awesome threat to its efforts to extremity nan inflow of overseas news and support its authoritarian rule. In furious responses to past South Korean leafleting, North Korea destroyed an quiet South Korean-built liaison agency successful its territory successful 2020 and fired astatine incoming balloons successful 2014.

South Korea said Sunday it was ramping up its anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers astatine each awesome sites on nan onshore separator because nan North was continuing its launches of trash-carrying balloons. South Korea restarted its loudspeaker broadcasts past Thursday for nan first clip successful astir 40 days successful retaliation for North Korea’s erstwhile balloon activities.

Observers opportunity nan propaganda broadcasts tin demoralize front-line North Korean troops and residents. In 2015, North Korea fired artillery rounds crossed nan separator successful anger complete South Korea’s restart of propaganda broadcasts, prompting nan South to return fire.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said nan existent South Korean broadcasts see K-pop songs and news connected South Korean economical development. South Korean media reported nan broadcasts besides contained news connected nan caller defection of a elder North Korean diplomat and called nan planting of onshore mines by North Korean soldiers astatine nan separator “hellish, slave-like lives.”

South Korea has an estimated 40 loudspeakers — 24 stationary and 16 mobile ones. South Korea’s subject said Monday it was operating each of nan fixed loudspeakers and plans to usage nan mobile loudspeakers arsenic well.

North Korea hasn’t officially responded to nan South Korean propaganda broadcasts. But past week, Kim Yo Jong, nan powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened caller countermeasures against South Korean civilian leafleting, informing that South Korean “scum” must beryllium fresh to salary “a gruesome and beloved price” for their actions.