North Korea has intensified its provocation tactics by launching a new batch of trash-filled balloons into South Korea, according to Seoul’s military. Over the past three days, North Korea has sent more than 900 balloons, including approximately 190 on Friday alone, with about 100 landing in Seoul and northern Gyeonggi province.
The balloons, which were reported to contain mostly paper and plastic waste, do not pose a safety threat but are part of a larger pattern of propaganda warfare between the two countries. Since May, nearly 5,000 such balloons have been sent south, in retaliation for South Korean activists’ propaganda balloons.
In response, South Korea has suspended a military agreement with North Korea and resumed propaganda broadcasts along the border. Experts suggest that these balloon campaigns are an ineffective form of propaganda that could damage North Korea’s international reputation rather than achieving its intended political objectives.
The latest balloon launches coincide with a high-profile visit by Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Seoul, where he met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss regional cooperation and responses to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated significantly, with recent announcements of North Korea deploying additional ballistic missile launchers to its southern border.