Between May 28 and June 26, North Korea launched balloons filled with trash, including excrement, into South Korea. This prompted South Korean authorities to advise residents to stay indoors and avoid contact with the balloons. The trash balloons landing at the Airport also caused a three-hour delay in the flight schedule at Incheon International Airport. This act, which South Korea’s military condemned as a violation of international law, is seen as retaliation against South Korean activists’ recent launches of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North. About 2,000 to 5,000 balloons are estimated to have been deployed over the 38th parallel with 1,300 making it into South Korean territory. The incident highlights the ongoing use of balloons in the propaganda war between the two Koreas since the 1950s.
Key Judgment 1. It is highly likely that North Korea’s recent balloon launches are only a direct retaliation towards the South Korean activists’s anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
Key Judgment 2. It is likely that the balloon launches will increase tensions between the two countries possibly involving further action.
Key Judgment 3. It is unlikely that both countries will cease these balloon launches soon, given their historical use of such methods.
