The South Korean military announced that North Korea launched about 350 balloons loaded with garbage into South Korea last night, "in the fifth such operation since late last month."
Yonhap news agency quoted the army as saying that it was ready to carry out loudspeaker broadcasts on the border with North Korea at any time, warning that “the implementation of these psychological warfare measures will depend on North Korea’s behavior.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that "about 100 balloons, most of them carrying scraps of paper and waste, landed in Seoul and the northern part of Gyeonggi Province."
The authority added, "As of nine o'clock in the morning, no balloons had been detected flying in the air, while analysis of the balloons that were recovered showed that they did not contain toxic substances."
The latest launch came after the North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, hinted on Friday that more balloons would be sent "in response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets launched by North Korean defectors in South Korea to the North."
With the latest launch, it is estimated that "North Korea has launched nearly 2,000 garbage-laden balloons since May 28."
In response, South Korea broadcast anti-Pyongyang propaganda over loudspeakers at the border on June 9 for the first time in six years, but turned off the loudspeakers the next day, according to Yonhap.
Distressing!
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