On Monday, South Korea witnessed 350 more North Korean balloons that were “presumed” to be transporting rubbish, sparking back-and-forth bickering as hostilities on the Korean Peninsula continue to rise.
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Escalating tension across the Korean border
Around 9 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET), the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported that a suspected balloon was observed flying in the northern Gyeonggi Province, which borders Seoul.
A hundred balloons landed inside South Korean territory, most of which were discovered north of Gyeonggi Province and the country’s capital, Seoul, with “no hazardous substances” discovered thus far, according to the report.
Later, the Seoul Metropolitan Government sent out a push message to the city informing it that a North Korean balloon had reached the sky over Seoul.
The notification also advised civilians to notify of any suspicious activity to authorities and to avoid touching downed balloons.
The South Korean military has issued a warning, stating that it may resume its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the border after pausing them for a few years.
Whether Seoul does so would depend on North Korea’s behavior, the military added.
Our military is prepared to launch anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts right away, and it will adapt its operations to the operational and strategic environment. stated on Tuesday the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea’s previous thrash ballon encounter
Since May, North Korea has launched more than 1,000 balloons in the direction of South Korea, threatening to retaliate for their activists who have been flying leaflets critical of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un’s regime.
A South Korean advocacy group launched 20 enormous balloons toward North Korea on Thursday, each containing thousands of anti-North Korean propaganda pamphlets and USB drives filled with South Korean entertainment.
The leader of North Korea’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, issued a warning of impending “trouble” on Friday, one day later.
It makes sense that you would end up having to deal with something you didn’t have to when you do something you were expressly advised not to do, the speaker remarked.
The most recent balloon salvo coincides with rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a standstill in inter-Korean diplomatic relations.
President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit
As talks on North Korea’s denuclearization efforts have stagnated and Kim has pledged to increase his nation’s nuclear weapons and threatened to use them against the South, Russian President Vladimir Putin inked a defense deal with the country last week.
A US Navy aircraft carrier, meanwhile, made its way to South Korea this past weekend in advance of trilateral drills with Japan and South Korea in the waters off the peninsula.
This is the most recent in a string of US military actions meant to reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to its partner in South Korea as stipulated in the treaty.
