Trash Balloons and Loudspeakers?
An overview of the latest tit-for-tat between North and South Korea
The Balloons
On May 28, balloons filled with trash and excrement were released from North Korea and landed in South Korea. South Korea responded by flying balloons back into North Korea, only theirs included leaflets and USB files containing music that is banned in North Korea.
The group of North Korean defectors behind at least some of the leaflets and USB drives is called Fighters for a Free North Korea. They aimed to send over 200,000 leaflets, over five thousand USB drives, and thousands of U.S. dollars into North Korea.
Leader of the group Park Sang-hak, who defected decades ago, said they would do this to send “truth and love” to “beloved North Korean compatriots.” He said they would stop sending balloons if they got an apology from those in North Korea who sent their own.
The group kicked off their mission on South Korea’s Memorial Day, June 6. That same day, President Yoon Suk Yeol called the North Korean balloons “a despicable provocation.”
A statement from the president’s office read as follows:
“Although the measures we are taking may be difficult for the North Korean regime to endure, they will deliver messages of light and hope to the North Korean military and citizens… the responsibility for any escalation of tension… will lie entirely with North Korea.”
After a week of balloon missions, the total number of balloons sent from both sides combined had reached well over one thousand.
Past Balloon Incidents
Using balloons as weapons is nothing new. Fighters for a Free North Korea sent balloons filled with leaflets of criticism of North Korea in October of 2014, for example.
North Korean soldiers shot them down. South Korean soldiers shot back, but no damages on either side were reported.
Undeterred, the defector group did something similar two weeks later.
Using balloons as weapons is not new for other countries, either. Many countries in the past have used them for surveillance, symbolism, and transporting materials.
South Korean former President Moon Jae In banned using weaponized balloons…
… but the criminalization of sending propaganda leaflets, via balloons or otherwise, was declared unconstitutional in 2023, after he had left office.
There were signs of cooling tensions between North and South Korea in 2018, when they set up buffer zones where military action between them was banned…
... but North Korea pushed the limits of the agreement with repeated missile tests.
2018 was the year the Inter-Korean Military Agreement was established…
… but due to the latest 2024 back-and-forth, South Korea voted in a cabinet meeting to completely void the pact.
Parts of the pact were already voided years ago, after North Korea used a spy satellite in a way that concerned the South.
The Loudspeakers
The South Korean National Security Council threatened to turn on loudspeakers that would play broadcasts of anti-Kim Jong Un (the leader of North Korea) messages if North Korea kept sending over trash balloons. This threat seemed to work…
… until it didn’t. North Korea sent well over 300 new balloons after this threat, so the speakers went on. Only 80 of the balloons actually landed in South Korean territory.
Past Loudspeaker Usage
It has been a while since South Korea used its loudspeakers to irk North Korea.
Weaponized loudspeaker usage was suspended by both North and South Korea in 2004.
In what was called the “Echo of Freedom” exercise, South Korea tested its loudspeakers recently for the first time since 2018, making the fact they started using them again no surprise.
North Korean soldiers have had heated reactions to the broadcasts in the past, even shooting at K-pop-blasting speakers!
The Latest Balloon Launches
Yet another balloon launch into South Korea occurred early on June 26, causing flight delays at Incheon Airport.
On July 19, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported a sighting of at least 200 new balloons sent by North Korea.
However, less than half were reported to have actually landed in South Korean territory.
No hazardous materials were detected; these balloons had mostly just paper in them.
The Latest Loudspeaker Usage
On Sunday, July 21, the JCS announced a switch to full-scale loudspeaker broadcasting at the border, which commenced that afternoon.
For four days in a row before this, the loudspeakers were on at different locations at different times.
The JCS’s statement laid blame on North Korea should there be “fatal consequences” of the current feud. The statement also called the North Korean military’s behavior “low-grade” and “petty,” especially in light of recent heavy rains people on both sides of the border have had to face.
How much longer the retaliation via balloons and loudspeakers continues is left to speculation.
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