Tensions have escalated dramatically between North and South Korea as the North Korean military launched another wave of balloons filled with trash toward the South Korean capital on Saturday. This recent act of provocation follows a series of similar incidents earlier in the week and is being seen as a direct retaliation to South Korea’s own use of propaganda leaflets. According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, approximately 90 balloons were released on Saturday, depositing their Dirty payload over Seoul and the nearby Gyeonggi province. This followed a larger offensive earlier in the week when North Korea sent around 260 large balloons southward on Tuesday and Wednesday, carrying garbage including cigarette butts, plastic waste, and even human excrement. South Korean military reports indicated that some of these balloons were equipped with timers to ensure they burst mid-air, maximising their disruptive impact.
#NorthKorea #SouthKorea #KimJongUn #TrashBalloons #KoreanConflict #PoliticalTensions #InternationalRelations #PropagandaWar #StinkingBalloons #KoreanPeninsula #CrossBorderTensions #Hostilities #Retaliation #MilitaryConflict #BilateralRelations
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.102~GR.125~
#NorthKorea #SouthKorea #KimJongUn #TrashBalloons #KoreanConflict #PoliticalTensions #InternationalRelations #PropagandaWar #StinkingBalloons #KoreanPeninsula #CrossBorderTensions #Hostilities #Retaliation #MilitaryConflict #BilateralRelations
~HT.178~PR.152~ED.102~GR.125~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Tensions have escalated dramatically between North and South Korea as the North Korean
00:20 military launched another wave of balloons filled with trash towards the South Korean
00:25 capital on Saturday.
00:27 This recent act of provocation follows a series of similar incidents earlier in the week and
00:32 is being seen as a direct retaliation to South Korea's own use of propaganda leaflets.
00:38 According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, approximately 90 balloons were released on
00:43 Saturday, depositing their dirty payload over Seoul and the nearby Gyeonggi province.
00:50 This followed a larger offensive earlier in the week when North Korea sent around 260
00:55 large balloons southward on Tuesday and Wednesday, carrying garbage including cigarette butts,
01:01 plastic waste and even human excrement.
01:04 South Korean military reports indicated that some of these balloons were equipped with
01:08 timers to ensure they burst mid-air, maximising the disruptive impact.
01:14 Photographs released by the South Korean military showed inflated balloons with plastic bags
01:18 tied to them.
01:19 Other images appeared to show trash strewn around collapsed balloons with the word "excrement"
01:25 written on a bag in one photograph.
01:27 South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik condemned the actions of the North, describing
01:32 them as "unimaginably shameful and base for a normal country" and labelled the stunt
01:36 a "grave violation of the armistice agreement" which has maintained an "uneasy ceasefire"
01:43 since the Korean War ended in 1953.
01:46 The provocative use of balloons filled with trash by North Korea is a response to the
01:50 South Korean military's deployment of propaganda leaflets over North Korean territory, a tactic
01:55 that has been a long-standing irritant in inter-Korean relations.
02:00 Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, justified the balloon
02:04 launches, framing them as "sincere gifts" in retaliation for the South's actions.
02:10 In a strongly worded statement issued by a North Korea state-run KCNA news agency, Kim
02:14 Yo-jong warned that more such actions would follow, stating, "When you experience how
02:20 unpleasant and tiring it is to be sent sticky filth, you will realise that you can't talk
02:25 about freedom of expression so easily when it comes to leafleting in border areas."
02:29 She further threatened that North Korea would respond to any further leaflet campaigns with
02:33 exponentially greater amounts of waste.
02:36 The already fraught situation has been exacerbated by other recent developments.
02:40 On Monday, North Korea attempted to launch a satellite, which the South described as
02:43 a "spy satellite."
02:45 This was followed by a series of ballistic missile tests on Friday, further heightening
02:48 the sense of alarm in the region.
02:50 In a show of strength and solidarity, South Korea and the US conducted joint military
02:53 exercises on Monday involving over 90 aircraft.
03:02 [MUSIC]