This file photo, provided by the military, shows a road in Seoul’s northern Gangbuk district scattered with scraps of paper from North Korean balloons on July 21, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 30 (Yonhap) — Trash-carrying balloons launched by North Korea since May have been found in over 3,000 locations across South Korea, a police report showed Tuesday.
Since late May, North Korea has launched some 3,600 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, which the North has claimed are in retaliation against South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets across the border.
According to a police report obtained by Democratic Party Rep. Yang Bu-nam, balloons sent from North Korea were found in 3,359 locations across South Korea between May 28 and July 25, during which 10 balloon campaigns were conducted.
The 10th campaign on July 24 had the biggest impact, with balloons and their trash found in 1,403 locations countrywide, according to the report.
Balloons and trash were found at 78 locations during the first campaign from May 28-29, while 440 locations were affected by the ninth campaign from July 21-22.
The affected locations include areas where balloons and the scraps of waste paper and plastic they carried were scattered when the balloons landed.
Seoul, Incheon and the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon — all located right below the inter-Korean border — were affected in all 10 campaigns, with the capital city experiencing balloons and trash landing on 2,069 locations.
In the first balloon campaign, balloons landed as far as the county of Geochang, 222 kilometers south of Seoul.
Some of the recently launched balloons landed on the presidential office compound in Seoul, while another fell on the rooftop of a residential building in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, last week, resulting in a minor fire caused by pieces of paper inside the balloons.
Yang urged the government to quickly implement measures to prevent South Korean activists from conducting leafleting campaigns toward the North, citing North Korea’s claims that such activities provoked its own balloon campaigns.
(Yonhap)
