'Omul Pungseon' Found Nationwide... NYT Says "Not Destructive but Causes Anxiety"

NYT "Revival of Cold War Era Tactics"
North Korea "Temporary Suspension of Leaflet Dropping... Will Resume Intensive Dropping if Leaflets Are Found"

North Korea has released a large number of so-called 'filth balloons' filled with garbage and waste, and the US New York Times (NYT) described it as "not a destructive attack, but a means to provoke anxiety." On the 2nd (local time), the NYT reported in an article titled "Why Did North Korea Bomb South Korea with Garbage Balloons?" that "North Korea sent about 1,000 garbage balloons across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) starting from the 27th of last month." It added, "When the balloons reached South Korean airspace, a timer activated, causing the plastic bags filled with various wastes to burst."

On the 2nd, an official is collecting debris from a waste balloon presumed to have been dispersed by North Korea in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The NYT analyzed, "When South Korea reports that something has been launched from North Korea, it is usually a rocket carrying ballistic missiles. However, North Korea's actions last week were a revival of Cold War-era tactics," adding, "They used balloons as a psychological warfare tool."

Regarding South Koreans' reactions to the filth balloons, the NYT said, "Most South Koreans remained calm and regarded the incident as annoying and absurd." About the government guideline to "not touch the balloons and report them," it pointed out, "North Korea is known to have stockpiled large quantities of biochemical weapons used to assassinate Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of Chairman Kim Jong-il."

The NYT also highlighted the psychological warfare between North and South Korea during the Cold War, stating, "North and South Korea tried to influence each other's citizens through radio broadcasts. Loudspeakers installed along the DMZ blasted propaganda songs to opposing soldiers day and night." Regarding leaflet drops at the time, it reported, "Both North and South Korea scattered millions of leaflets criticizing the opposing government over each other's territory, and both sides prohibited reading or keeping them." It added, "In South Korea, when children found leaflets in the hills and reported them, the police sometimes exchanged them for pencils or other school supplies."

The military authorities announced on the 2nd that North Korea is once again releasing a large number of filth balloons toward South Korea. The photo shows a filth balloon for South Korea found in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. [Image provided by Joint Chiefs of Staff] [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, North Korea announced on the 2nd that it would temporarily suspend the release of filth balloons carrying garbage to the South, but would resume if South Korea sends leaflets ('ppira') back to the North.

Kim Kang-il, Vice Minister of the North Korean Ministry of Defense, stated in a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency that night, "We have fully experienced how disgusting and labor-intensive it is to pick up the piles of paper scattered by the South Koreans." He emphasized that the filth balloon release is a "thorough countermeasure," and warned, "If the South Koreans resume the distribution of anti-Republic leaflets, we will concentrate on releasing a hundredfold amount of paper and filth according to the quantity and number found."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that about 720 filth balloons released by North Korea from the night of the 1st until 1 p.m. on the 2nd were found in areas including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gyeongbuk. Following the release of about 260 filth balloons to the South on the 28th and 29th of last month, North Korea resumed the release after three days, bringing the total identified so far to nearly 1,000.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.