“Recently, South Korea has unmasked psychological warfare by sending leaflets and other dirty things across the border,” the state-run North Korean news agency KCNA wrote on Sunday.
The leaflets had been distributed by balloons, an activity that has increased recently, according to the news agency, which also reported that the campaign would be responded to.
“Eye for eye actions will be carried out against the repeated spreading of leaflets and rubbish,” KCNA wrote.
The answer: farts and manure
On Wednesday, the South Korean military issued a warning to the population near the border: Stay indoors and watch out for unidentified falling objects.
A total of around 260 white balloons containing cigarette butts, plastic bottles, batteries, fabric and fertilizer landed in South Korea.
– It was very unpleasant and scary, a resident told Reuters.
Later in the afternoon, North Korea confirmed that they were the ones who sent the balloons.
“South Korea should continue to pick up trash scattered by our people, and see them as sincere gifts…”, North Korea’s Kim Yo-Jong, heavy-hitting politician and sister of leader Kim Jong-Un, said in a press release.
Balloons were illegal
Propaganda balloons have been part of the conflict between North and South Korea for several years. Most often, it has been South Korean activists and North Korean defectors who have sent over leaflets with critical messages against Kim Jong-Un and his father, dollar bills and South Korean culture such as USB sticks with K-pop.
During the pandemic, North Korea accused South Korea of have spread covid-19 to the country by balloons. They also shot down balloons with anti-aircraft systems in 2016.
Early 2021 banned the South Korean government leaflet campaigns across the North Korean border. The law repealed in 2023 by the country’s constitutional court as it was considered a restriction of freedom of expression.