North Korea Sends Balloons with Trash to South Korea: An Act of Psychological Warfare

On Wednesday, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons filled with trash and excrement across the border into South Korea, calling them “gifts of sincerity.” This act by North Korea sparked outrage in Seoul, they condemned this ridiculous act of North Korea.

The South Korean military shared photos showing inflated balloons with plastic bags tied to them. Some images showed trash scattered around deflated balloons, including a bag labeled “excrement.” By Wednesday afternoon, over 260 balloons had been detected, most of them landing on the ground and carrying animal feces and garbage. The military labeled this action as “base and dangerous.”

North Korea claimed the balloons were a response to an ongoing propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. These activists often send balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, money, and USB sticks containing K-pop music videos and dramas to North Korea.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a powerful official, criticized Seoul in state media. She called South Korea “shameful” and “brazen” for condemning the balloons while defending its citizens’ right to freedom of expression. She described the balloons as “gifts of sincerity” for South Koreans who “cry for freedom of expression,” promising to send many more in the future.

An official from Seoul’s presidential office suggested that North Korea might be testing South Korea’s reaction and vowed to respond calmly. The South Korean military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to collect the objects, and an alert was issued advising residents to stay away and report any sightings.

On Sunday, North Korea’s vice defense minister criticized the balloons sent by South Korean activists, calling them “dirty things” and a “dangerous provocation.” He warned that North Korea would send “mounds of waste-paper and filth” in response.

Additionally, North Korea attempted to jam GPS signals in South Korea early Wednesday morning, but no damage was reported, according to the Donga Ilbo newspaper. The South Korean defense ministry did not comment on this report.

Previously, a South Korean government had attempted to stop such campaigns, especially after a 2014 incident when North Korea tried to shoot down balloons, causing concerns among border residents. A 2021 ban on balloon launches was later ruled unconstitutional by a top court, citing freedom of speech.

The militaries of both Koreas remain on high alert across the heavily fortified border, with North Korea regularly threatening its neighbor. Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, noted that sending balloons is less risky than overt military actions. These “grey zone tactics” are difficult to counter and carry a lower risk of escalating into uncontrollable military conflict, even though they are distressing for civilians.