'4-Star General' Kim Byung-joo, Former Military Officer, Warns "Explosives Could Be Loaded on Balloons... Vulnerabilities Exposed to North Korea"

"County Remains Idle Despite Four Incidents of Filth Balloons"
"Checking if Yongsan No-Fly Zone Has Been Breached"

Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed concern that "North Korea's filth balloons are a strong form of new provocation," adding, "The balloons can carry biochemical weapons or explosives, and in the future, large balloons may also be equipped with propulsion devices."

Kim, a former four-star general, stated on CBS Radio on the 10th that the vulnerabilities of our military have been exposed to North Korea, saying, "It seems our frontline has been breached."

Balloon from North Korea found near Jamsil Bridge on the Han River in Seoul on the morning of the 9th. Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "Since North Korea is not thinking or acting normally, we must consider the possibility that biochemical weapons could be loaded onto the balloons," and added, "In any case, North Korea has now recognized our vulnerabilities, and even if they are not using these weapons now, they are likely thinking that such measures would be effective during wartime."

He criticized, "The government and military have done nothing despite the filth balloons coming in four waves," and said, "Not a single shot was fired, nor were the balloons shot down over the GOP line. It appears our frontline has been breached. This is very serious."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim also referred to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Facebook post on the 8th, in which he revealed that "the Defense Security Command informed that North Korea's filth balloons were moving past Gimpo and Yongsan toward the Cheongdam Bridge direction," and said, "We are currently verifying whether the no-fly zone, which can be called the sky fence over the Presidential Office like the unmanned drone incident last time, has also been breached."

He added, "If the balloon fell in Yongsan, it is highly likely within the no-fly zone," explaining, "Because the no-fly zone is defined as a radius of 3.7 km from the Yongsan Presidential Office and a radius of 3.7 km from the Hannam-dong residence, if the filth balloon fell in Yongsan or passed through Yongsan, it can only be seen as a breach of the no-fly zone."

Regarding concerns that shooting down the filth balloons with guns could provoke North Korea further, he countered, "It is natural to shoot down any intruding forces or objects crossing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at the MDL line or GOP line." He criticized, "Military countermeasures should have been taken before the balloons reached densely populated areas, but doing nothing and saying that they could not respond because bullets might cross northward is not something the military should say."

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