North Korea Launches Bizarre Balloon Attack

(Scypre.com) – North Korea recently escalated tensions with South Korea by releasing hundreds of balloons carrying trash across the border. This unusual act prompted the South Korean military to deploy chemical and explosive response teams to recover the debris scattered across various regions of the country.

The balloon campaign followed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s call to his military scientists to overcome the recent failed satellite launch and continue advancing their space-based reconnaissance capabilities. He emphasized the importance of these developments to counter the military activities of the U.S. and South Korea, as reported by state media on Wednesday.

In his first public response to the failed launch, Kim warned of “stern” actions against South Korea due to a military exercise involving 20 fighter jets near the inter-Korean border just hours before the failed launch on Monday. Kim labeled the South’s reaction as “hysterical insanity” and a “very dangerous provocation,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that North Korea began flying numerous trash-laden balloons toward the South on Tuesday night. This move appears to be in retaliation against South Korean activists who have been sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. By Wednesday afternoon, about 260 North Korean balloons had been found in various parts of South Korea. Military rapid response and explosive clearance teams are working to safely recover these items and have advised civilians to avoid touching the debris and to report any findings to authorities.

Photos released by the South Korean military showed trash strewn across highways and roads. In Seoul, officials discovered a timer likely meant to release the trash midair. In South Chungcheong province, large balloons with un-popped plastic bags filled with dirt-like substances were found on a road. There were no immediate reports of damage, although similar activities in 2016 had resulted in property damage.

North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il announced plans over the weekend to scatter “mounds of wastepaper and filth” across the border in response to the leaflets from South Korean activists. Reports from Agence France-Presse mentioned that some balloons also contained toilet paper and suspected animal feces.

Kim Jong Un’s remarks about the satellite came during a visit to the North’s Academy of Defense Sciences. He delivered the speech a day after a rocket carrying what would have been North Korea’s second military reconnaissance satellite exploded shortly after liftoff. The North Korean aerospace technology administration attributed the failure to potential issues with a newly developed rocket engine that uses petroleum and liquid oxygen.

Relations between North and South Korea are at their lowest in years, marked by an increase in both North Korean weapons tests and combined military exercises by South Korea with the U.S. and Japan since 2022. The recent failed satellite launch represents a setback to Kim’s plans to launch three more military spy satellites in 2024, following the successful launch of the first military reconnaissance satellite in November. This launch had succeeded after two prior failures.

Monday’s launch was condemned by South Korea, Japan, and the United States, as the United Nations prohibits North Korea from conducting such launches, which are seen as tests for long-range missile technology. North Korea insists on its right to launch satellites and test missiles, viewing these actions as necessary to counter U.S.-led military threats. Kim underscored the importance of military reconnaissance satellites for monitoring U.S. and South Korean activities and enhancing North Korea’s nuclear missile capabilities.

It is uncertain when North Korea will attempt another satellite launch, which experts suggest could take months. The mention of a liquid oxygen-petroleum rocket engine by state media indicates an effort to develop a more powerful launch vehicle, possibly with external technological assistance, likely from Russia. This shift in rocket design suggests a potential collaboration, especially given Kim’s recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea’s increasing ties with Russia have been highlighted by a summit with Putin in September, where they discussed satellite technology at a Russian spaceport. The U.S. and South Korea have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with military equipment to support its conflict in Ukraine.