South Korea has warned residents living near the border with North Korea to be on the alert. Local media reports said that more than 90 balloons carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash and excrement had been detected.
South Korea’s military said unidentified objects believed to be from North Korea were seen near the heavily fortified border. It urged people to keep away and report them to the military or police.
More than 90 balloons had been detected, with some landing on the ground on Wednesday. However, others were still in the air.
Photographs published in South Korean media showed an inflated white balloon with a plastic bag tethered to it. It also showed what appeared to be a collapsed balloon with trash strewn around it.
North Korea’s vice defence minister issued a statement on Sunday where he vowed to exercise “strong power for self-defence.” He warned that “mounds of waste-paper and filth” would be sent to South Korea. This was in response to its flying “dirty things” to the North.
Peter Ward, research fellow at the Sejong Institute, said sending balloons was far less risky than taking overt military action.
“These kinds of grey zone tactics are more difficult to counter and hold less risk of uncontrollable military escalation, even if they’re horrid for the civilians who are ultimately targeted,” he said.
South Korean activists have for years sent balloons to North Korea carrying leaflets criticising its leaders. It has also sent USB memory sticks of K-pop music videos.
With inputs from Reuters
