Several photos showing white balloons carrying bags full of trash and what appeared to be feces were widely shared by South Korean media, after North Korea warned over the weekend that it would spread "waste paper and garbage" into border areas to punish Seoul, according to AFP.
This photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry on May 29 shows unidentified objects attached to balloons released from North Korea on a street in South Korea's Chungnam Province.
"Objects believed to be North Korean leaflets have been identified in the Kyunggi-Gangwon border area and the military is taking action," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
"People should refrain from outdoor activities, avoid contact with any foreign objects and report to the nearest military base or police," the JCS said in a statement sent to AFP.
The JCS said North Korea's actions "clearly violated international law and seriously threatened the safety of our people", adding that some of the balloons contained suspicious debris that the military was examining.
South Korean activists occasionally release balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and money for North Koreans living on the border.
Pyongyang has long been angered by such propaganda campaigns, and has recently threatened retaliation. “Tit-for-tat action will also be taken against South Korea’s frequent scattering of leaflets and other garbage near border areas,” North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il said in a statement on May 26.
"Heaps of waste paper and garbage will soon be scattered across the border and inland areas of South Korea and the country will have to spend a lot of effort to clean them up," Kim said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
North Korea sent propaganda balloons across the border in 2016, but its approach this time is a little different, Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute in South Korea told AFP.
"Bags filled with toilet paper, trash and Chinese batteries were found. Also from the witness's testimony that there was a special smell from the bag, it is possible that they sent feces, possibly animal feces," said Mr Cheong.
"It is a stern message to South Korea that like South Korea, North Korea can also send propaganda and they should stop it immediately," Cheong commented, adding that the inter-Korean border would be "strictly controlled after this incident".
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/han-quoc-to-trieu-tien-tha-bong-bay-mang-theo-rac-phan-185240529163005425.htm
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