(NewsSpace.com) – To say relations are tense between North and South Korea would be a drastic understatement. South Korea regularly works with the United States to hold military drills, and the US has soldiers stationed in the country. This relationship has only soured things between the North and South, and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s regime has made its feelings very clear. After activists sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border into North Korea, it retaliated in a disturbing way.
On Wednesday, May 29, South Korean officials said the country came under a barrage of balloons. Each of them contained trash, such as leaflets, bottles, old batteries, and other waste, as well as fertilizer. The majority of the balloons were in the Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces along the border, but some managed to travel several hundred miles south. The South Korean government put out an alert, warning citizens not to touch the inflatables. It also asked that people inform the military if they come across them. A chemical, biological, and nuclear rapid response team, as well as an explosive ordnance team, responded to the incidents.
According to NBC News, the South Korean Defense Ministry noted that there was no human waste in the balloons, something that its neighbor to the north regularly uses as fertilizer. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said sending the balloons “violate[s] international law and threaten [its] people’s safety.” It urged North Korea to cease.
The barrage is in retaliation for South Korean activist Park Sang-hak sending 20 balloons over the border earlier this month. They contained 300,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets, as well as USB drives containing K-Pop music and K-drama films, as well as American currency. Park justified his actions by saying that Kim is “the enemy of Korean people.”
While pesky, the actions aren’t life-threatening. However, increasing tensions over the past few months have led many to believe that it’s only a matter of time before North Korea attacks its neighbor.
Copyright 2024, NewsSpace.com
