Since Tuesday, nearly a thousand balloons have been launched towards South Korea. But Pyongyang assures this Sunday that it will “temporarily” suspend these shipments.
North Korea committed this Sunday to “to suspend” the launch of balloons filled with trash, ranging from cigarette butts to animal feces, to South Korea. “We will temporarily suspend the dispersal of waste paper across the border”indicated the official North Korean agency KCNA.
Since Tuesday, nearly 1,000 balloons have been launched by Pyongyang towards its neighbor, including 600 on Sunday, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Seoul denouncing an action “low grade” and threatening retaliation. On Sunday morning, between 20 to 50 balloons per hour were recorded in the air by the South Korean army.
No dangerous substances
The balloons landed in South Korea’s northern provinces, including the capital Seoul and the adjacent Gyeonggi region, which together are home to nearly half of the South’s population.
South Korea said the North Korean initiative contravened the armistice agreement that ended hostilities between the two Koreas in 1953, even though “no dangerous substances were found” in the balloons.
The South Korean general staff asked the public to avoid “all contact” with this waste. “Our military carries out surveillance and reconnaissance operations of the balloon launch sites, tracks them by aerial reconnaissance and collects fallen debris, giving priority to public safety”he added.
Before the announcement of the suspension of these shipments, South Korea’s National Security Council had planned to meet on Sunday to decide on a response. According to the South Korean agency Yonhap, this could result in a resumption of propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers on the border with North Korea.
Freedom of expression according to Kim Yo Jong
“If Seoul chooses to resume loudspeaker broadcasts against the North, which Pyongyang hates as much as anti-Kim balloons, it could lead to limited armed conflict in the border areas”said Cheong Seong-chang, director of strategy at the Sejong Institute.
The Seoul municipality sent an alert message to residents on Saturday after the detection of new balloons, on the presence of a “unidentified object believed to be North Korean propaganda leaflets”. Pyongyang claimed at the start of the week that its balloons, “sincere gifts”aimed to respond to the sending into its territory of balloons loaded with propaganda leaflets against leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has long been exasperated by these actions by South Korean activists, who sometimes also send money, rice or USB sticks of South Korean television dramas.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jung-Un’s sister, taunted South Korea over the balloons this week, saying the North Koreans were just practicing their freedom of speech.
Seoul announces suspension of inter-Korean agreement
South Korea’s presidential national security council on Monday said it had decided to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at easing front-line animosities, until mutual trust between the two Koreas be reinstated, according to the presidential office.
The security council said the suspension would allow South Korea to resume military exercises near the border with North Korea and make effective and immediate responses to North Korea’s provocations. He said a proposal on the suspension would be presented to the cabinet council on Tuesday for approval.