Dirty attacks

Garbage from North Korea lands on presidential seat

In Seoul, it was time to collect garbage again.(Bild: AFP/YONHAP)

Now it's getting disgusting! North Korea is currently covering its southern neighbor with garbage from the air. According to South Korea, a balloon apparently filled with garbage has landed on the grounds of the presidential office in Seoul. It is likely to be one of hundreds of such balloons.

According to the official news agency Yonhap, the General Staff in Seoul stated that the balloon posed no chemical, biological or radiological danger. Previously, North Korea had again sent several balloons in the direction of the border province of Gyeonggi, north of Seoul.

500 balloons on Sunday
The population was called upon not to touch crashed balloons and to report them to the police or the military. According to South Korea, North Korea has sent more than 3,000 balloons filled with waste products and some with liquid manure to South Korea since the end of May, including 500 on Sunday alone.

Waste balloons keep landing in South Korea.(Bild: AP/Im Sun-suk)

The two Korean states have been using psychological warfare methods for months. Just last Thursday, the South Korean government once again began broadcasting propaganda to the isolated neighboring country via loudspeaker systems on the border.

Pop music for North Korea
The military broadcasts both political messages and South Korean pop music via the loudspeaker systems aimed at North Korea. The North Korean leadership views such actions as a serious provocation.

After a temporary phase of de-escalation, the conflict on the Korean peninsula has recently become much more explosive again. North Korea has been increasingly testing nuclear-capable missiles and other weapons since the beginning of 2022. Meanwhile, South Korea and the USA have expanded their military cooperation.