South Korea’s military on Wednesday accused North Korea of sending balloons filled with trash and manure across the border, demanding an immediate halt to the “inhumane and vulgar” operation.
Since Tuesday night, more than 260 balloons have been detected in South Korea, according to the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Images released by the military show balloons carrying plastic bags, one of which had the word “excrement” written on the side, according to Reuters.
A JCS official told the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency that the balloons, which have all fallen to the ground, carried trash, including pieces of shoes, plastic bottles, and manure. Although no damage or injuries have been reported, bomb disposal units and other experts have been deployed to collect the balloons. Residents have been advised not to touch the objects.
“These acts by North Korea clearly violate international law and seriously threaten our people’s safety,” stated the JCS, issuing a stern warning to “North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and vulgar act.”
The balloon operation began shortly after Kim Kang Il, North Korea’s vice defense minister, condemned propaganda leaflets that North Korean defectors in the South have been attaching to balloons and sending northward for years. On Sunday, the minister accused Seoul of “despicable psychological warfare” and vowed to deliver “tit-for-tat action.”
“Mounds of wastepaper and filth will soon be scattered over the border areas and the interior of [South Korea], and it will directly experience how much effort is required to remove them,” he said.