As the South Korea and North Korean dispute heats up, North Korea ramped up the launch of trash balloons towards South Korea after which it was forced to shut down runways at the two main airports for the capital city Seoul.
Democratic Party member of parliament Yang Bu-nam said in a public statement on September 24 that runways at Incheon and Gimpo airports were closed for landings or takeoffs on 20 different occasions since June after balloons were detected in the vicinity. Not only on airport runways disrupting airport traffic but these balloons carrying trash were carried by wind to the presidential office. However, the Presidential Security Service had said that the balloons did not contain any dangerous material or cause any injuries.
In retaliation to balloons carrying propaganda leaflets flown by South Korean activists along the tense inter-Korean border areas, North Korea resoluted to drop these balloons full of trash in SK territory. North Korea’s vice-minister of Defence Kim Kang II sent out a prior warning in a statement earlier this year, “Mounds of wastepaper and filth will soon be scattered over the border areas and the interior of the ROK and it will directly experience how much effort is required to remove them.”
As balloons were found in eight of the nine provinces in South Korea, the military personnel calling it a ‘clear violation of international law’ warning people to not touch the balloons and the plastic bags attached to them as they contained filthy waste and trash containing cigarette butts to wastepaper, used batteries and compost.
The residents were instructed to refrain from outdoor activities and were asked to report to the nearest police station if they encountered an ‘unidentified object.’ The authorities said that these actions harmed the safety of the people and sent out a stern warning to North Korea to immediately put an end to this ‘inhumane and crass action.’
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that “some of the fallen balloons carried what appears to be faeces judging from its dark colour and odour”. This has raised security concerns due to their potential to carry chemically and biologically hazardous materials.
