North Korea is literally sending sh*t ballons across the border into North Korea. Hundreds of balloons were spotted Wednesday drifting into South Korean territory, some of them with the word "excrement" written on them.
This is because the balloons were loaded with feces and other rubbish as they drifted over the heavily fortified border. Seoul released photos of the aftermath of some balloons having popped on city streets, releasing their foul contents all over heavily trafficked streets.
"We sternly warn the North to immediately stop its inhumane and low-class actions," a statement by the south's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It added that the North’s actions "clearly violate international laws and seriously threaten the safety of our people."
Both sides have long used balloons to physically transport propaganda messages to the other side. A Sunday statement by North Korea forewarned that "mounds of wastepaper and filth" would soon be sent to the South as "tit-for-tat action" after "dirty things" were previously flown into the north.
The South Korean government has gone so far as to deploy HAZMAT teams to deal with the clean-up as the crap-filled balloons descended with their payloads:
The military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to inspect and collect the objects, and an alert was issued warning residents to keep away and report any sightings to authorities.
South Korea's military starting Tuesday night had detected "large amounts of balloons" arriving from the North, and over 150 were observed as of Wednesday morning. There could be up to hundreds more. The BBC subsequently said there were at least 260 balloons.
Residents of the northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces have been warned to not go near the "unidentified objects" and have even been advised against outdoor activities. The Joint Chiefs of Staff statement cited the risk of "damaging residential areas, airports and highways."
North Korea’s Vice Minister of National Defense said this is a natural response to nefarious cross-border activities the north had already long been engaged in. "Scattering leaflets by use of balloons is a dangerous provocation that can be utilized for a specific military purpose," said Kim Kang Il as cited in KCNA.
Some of the balloons and what they were carrying are quite large, according to local footage...
North Korea sent more than 150 balloons with garbage to South Korea - Yonhap
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 29, 2024
Inside the bags tied to the balloons were plastic bottles, batteries, shoe parts and even manure.
North Korea has previously said it intends to scatter "mountains of waste paper and dirt" in border… pic.twitter.com/X3HqAXn2xb
He charged South Korea with "psychological warfare". Apparently the Kim Jong Un government believes sh*t balloons are a natural response.