North Korea sends over 150 balloons carrying trash into South Korea - Yonhap

YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS. North Korea has sent more than 150 balloons carrying trash across the inter-Korean border, Seoul's military said Wednesday, after the North warned of "tit-for-tat action" against anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown by the South's activists, Yonhap reports.

Since Tuesday night, the balloons have crossed the border to fall in various locations across the country, reaching as far as the southeastern province of South Gyeongsang, and scatter waste as they fell to the ground, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The fallen balloons appeared to have carried various pieces of trash, such as plastic bottles, batteries, shoe parts and even manure, a JCS official said, with military officials collecting the objects for a detailed analysis, the report adds.

"These acts by North Korea clearly violate international law and seriously threaten our people's safety," the JCS said. "(We) sternly warn North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and vulgar act."

The JCS advised residents in the areas not to touch the objects and report to nearby military or police authorities if they discover them.

On Sunday, North Korea said it will scatter "mounds of wastepaper and filth" over the border areas in a "tit-for-tat action" against the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets.

According to Yonhap, for years, North Korean defectors in South Korea and conservative activists have flown the leaflets to the North via balloons to help encourage North Koreans to eventually rise up against the Pyongyang regime.

North Korea has repeatedly called for an end to the leafleting campaign. The issue has long been a source of tension between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.