S. Korea military warns of more trash-filled balloons from North

AFP | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

More trash-filled balloons from North Korea are expected to arrive in the South from Saturday, Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang began its campaign to punish its neighbour.

North Korea had sent around 260 balloons carrying bags of trash -- including waste batteries, cigarette butts and what appeared to be manure -- from Tuesday night to Wednesday, according to an Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, who condemned the move as “low-class” and inhumane.

Pyongyang has defended the move, saying the “sincere gifts” were retaliation for balloons full of anti-Kim Jong Un regime propaganda sent northwards by activists in the South. From Saturday, “north winds are forecasted, so the release of balloons carrying waste from the North to the South is expected,” an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff official said yesterday.

“We are closely monitoring the movements of the North Korean military, and if such balloons are launched, an announcement will be made to the media,” the official added, advising the public to refrain from touching the balloons if spotted, and to report them to authorities.

North Korea also attempted to jam GPS signals for a third consecutive day yesterday, but it did not hinder any military operations in the South, Seoul’s military said.

The North attempted on Monday to put a second spy satellite into orbit, which ended in a failure. That attempt came just hours after South Korea, Japan and China -- Pyongyang’s most important ally -- held a rare trilateral summit, where they called for Pyongyang to give up its nukes.