The Seoul military announced on Thursday that North Korea had launched more garbage-filled balloons southward, the most recent in a string of border bombardments that have prompted a tit-for-tat propaganda campaign.
As reported by Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Pyongyang launched approximately 420 balloons late on Wednesday and promptly followed up with another round early on Thursday.
According to the JCS, about 20 of the balloons had already touched down in the South, mostly in the northern Gyeonggi province and Seoul, the country’s capital.
The military claimed that “mostly paper and plastic waste” was contained in the bags that were tied to those balloons and that, based on their analysis, there was no risk to the public’s safety.
This is the thirteenth round of trash-carrying balloons launched by Pyongyang since late May.
The latest launch comes as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North recently announcing the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launchers to its southern border.
North Korea has sent more than 3,800 trash-filled balloons southward since May, saying they are retaliation for propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists.
Seoul has responded by halting a military agreement with Pyongyang aimed at lowering tensions and resuming some propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers near the border.
On Wednesday, high-level discussions regarding North Korea deterrence were held between South Korean and US officials.
According to Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs, “North Korea has not stopped advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and has recently continued to provoke by disturbing the GPS system or launching trash balloons,” she told reporters.
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