North launches more than 240 trash-laden balloons overnight. Only 4 percent land.

North Korea

North launches more than 240 trash-laden balloons overnight. Only 4 percent land.

Published: 11 Aug. 2024, 15:29

LIM JEONG-WON
lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr

Contents of a trash balloon launched by North Korea are seen on a street on the campus of Yonsei University in Mapo District, western Seoul, on July 24. [YONHAP]

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed Sunday that more than 240 trash-laden balloons were released by North Korea from the previous evening to the early hours of Sunday. Only about 4 percent of the identified balloons fell in South Korean territory.

More than 10 balloons fell in the northern part of Gyeonggi, a very low number compared to the 480 balloons that landed in South Korea during the July 24 launch of some 500 balloons.

The JCS estimated that the number of balloons that crossed into South Korea was low this time due to strong winds.

The JCS added that as of 10 a.m., there were no trash-laden balloons identified in the air. North Korea reportedly stopped releasing trash-laden balloons at dawn.

The balloons were carrying waste, including paper and plastic bottles, according to the JCS — adding there were no materials that caused safety concerns.

This is the 11th time this year that North Korea has launched waste-laden balloons across the border, and the launch from Saturday to Sunday morning came 17 days after the previous launch on July 24.

During the July 24 launch, balloons fell onto the presidential office building in Yongsan, and a fire broke out on the roof of an apartment building in Goyang, Gyeonggi.

Some have suggested that the waste-laden balloons should be actively shot down, but the South Korean military has been maintaining the policy of collecting them after they fall.

Military authorities are not shooting down the balloons with weapons, such as antiaircraft guns, because the bullets could cross over to the North and provide an excuse for provocation from Pyongyang. Shooting down the balloons, which each weigh about 10 kilograms (22 pounds), could also cause damage.

In response to the continued launch of waste-laden balloons from North Korea, the South Korean military began loudspeaker broadcasts toward the border on July 18. The South Korean military operated fixed loudspeakers deployed along the western, central and eastern fronts in relay.

However, as North Korea continued its balloon launches, the South’s military began a full-scale operation on July 21, turning on all fixed loudspeakers on the front line simultaneously.

North Korea has been making noise using loudspeakers installed towards the South since July 20 in an attempt to prevent North Korean soldiers and residents from hearing the South’s broadcasts.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]