South Korea said it has resumed blaring anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts into North Korea after its northern neighbor once again sent trash-carrying balloons into the country, according to a Thursday report from the Associated Press (AP).
Tensions between the two countries, which stem back to the Cold War and Korean War, have been rising in recent months. Since late May, North Korea has floated more than 2,000 balloons filled with waste, cigarette butts and some even manure towards South Korea, the AP reported.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, this week insinuated South Korea could expect more trash-carrying balloons—or worse—after she accused activists from the south of sending their own balloons containing anti-Pyongyang propaganda. The AP said it's not known if activist groups have sent balloons from South Korea in recent days, but previous such balloons reportedly included flash drives loaded with South Korean music and films, which Pyongyang considers a security threat to its largely walled-off country of 26 million people.
In a statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff obtained by the AP, the U.S. ally said its loudspeaker broadcasts were conducted overnight between Thursday evening and Friday morning in areas where Pyongyang had sent trash-filled balloons. The broadcasts, pushed through loudspeakers at the border and pointed toward North Korea, blast propaganda, world news and pop music.
Newsweek reached out to South Korea's embassy, North Korea's United Nations contact and the U.S. State Department on Thursday night via email for comment.
In June, following Pyongyang's launch of trash-carrying balloons, South Korea suspended the countries' 2018 tension-reduction deal, which had required the two parties cease hostile acts at the border. On June 9, South Korea reportedly broadcasted pop songs, news on the South Korean company Samsung and criticism on North Korea's missile program across the border.
The strategic partnership signed last month by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which pledges mutual military assistance in the event of an attack, has further increased anxiety in Seoul, particularly regarding nuclear weapons. North Korea has an estimated 50 nuclear warheads, and Russia possesses around 5,580, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Seoul does not have nuclear weapons, but as a strong U.S. ally, Washington maintains its "nuclear umbrella" over the country. However, two-thirds of South Koreans now favor going nuclear, according to a poll released three weeks ago by the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification. The number of South Koreans who believe the capability is necessary is up 6 percent from last year.
South Korean broadcasts have previously draw sharp retaliation from North Korea. In 2015, South Korea recommenced loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in 11 years, and North Korea responded by firing artillery rounds across the border, which South Korea responded to, according to authorities. There were no reported casualties.
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