North Korea’s garbage balloons, other provocations follow regime’s failed satellite launch

FORUM Staff

The hundreds of trash-laden balloons that North Korea floated over the fortified border into South Korea were a dangerous provocation, Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners said.

The United Nations Command (UNC), which monitors compliance with the armistice that halted the Korean War in 1953, condemned the bizarre act as not only harmful and unsanitary but also a violation of the armistice agreement and international law. The multinational command said it will conduct a formal investigation.

North Korea “has repeatedly stated its desire to be treated as a responsible member of the international community, but the act of sending balloons containing … contaminants into a neighbor’s airspace and affecting its populace is irresponsible,” the UNC stated.

Pyongyang’s latest provocations appear orchestrated, The Korea Times newspaper reported. The North’s botched attempt to put a second spy satellite into orbit in late May 2024 came after the People’s Republic of China — in a rare criticism of the Kim Jong Un regime — joined with Japan and South Korea to call for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“Attempting to showcase its military capability through the satellite launch, the North’s endeavor ended in failure,” the newspaper said.

Kim drew further international criticism by illegally firing ballistic missiles off the country’s east coast the next day. His regime then began jamming GPS signals on South Korea’s northwestern islands, disrupting fishing and passenger vessels.

In response to North Korea’s belligerence, Seoul suspended military agreements that restricted operations at the inter-Korean border.

The National Defense Ministry said the move will ensure military activities protect safety and property in South Korea. “The responsibility for the situation coming to this end lies with the North Korean regime, and any further provocations will be met with a stern response based on the South Korea-[United States] defense posture,” the ministry stated, according to The Korea Herald newspaper.

South Korea said nearly 1,000 garbage bags containing cigarette butts, paper and plastic landed in the nation in late May and early June 2024. Authorities dismissed initial reports that the balloons carried feces but said some appeared to contain compost, according to media reports.

People were warned that the debris could be dangerous. Military teams recovered the trash, with Seoul operating a 24-hour center to respond to reports.

North Korea’s actions also caused property damage and disrupted traffic in the South, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

“Engaging in actions such as sending balloons filled with garbage constitutes crude and base behavior, deserving of cynicism and increased isolation from the international community,” The Korea Times noted.

Pyongyang claimed the balloons were retaliation for a campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South, who use balloons to send food, medicine, money, anti-regime leaflets, and small computer drives containing South Korean music and videos across the border, the Reuters news agency reported.

The North’s authoritarian regime considers outside information a threat. Kim introduced laws that carry the death penalty for possessing media from the South, Japan or the U.S. Anyone caught watching such media could face 15 years in a prison camp, the BBC news agency reported.

Pyongyang announced it would stop releasing balloons hours after the South Korean government said it might resume loudspeaker broadcasts across the border. The broadcasts have included pop music, news reports and criticism of the North’s human rights abuses.