Around 90 balloons suspected to have been launched by North Korea have been found scattered across South Korea. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Around 90 balloons suspected to have been launched by North Korea have been found scattered across South Korea, including the capital Seoul and areas near the militarized border, according to military officials on May 29.
Some of the balloons have landed while others remain aloft, the officials said. Troops are working with police officers to retrieve those that have fallen to the ground.
The balloons were found carrying plastic bags tied to their strings that appeared to contain fecal matter, according to the military. Authorities are still examining whether the balloons also carried anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets, a tactic the North has used in the past.
“We advise the public not to touch any unidentified objects and report them immediately to nearby military units or the police,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The barrage appeared to be retaliation for recent attempts by South Korean activists to float anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. On May 26, North Korea issued a stark warning, threatening to unleash a relentless barrage of trash over South Korea.
In 2016, North Korea also released balloons carrying feces and offensive messages in response to the leafleting campaigns, which Pyongyang has long condemned as a violation of a decades-old inter-Korean agreement aimed at preventing psychological warfare.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
