Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
France 24
France 24
World
NEWS WIRES

North Korean trash balloon lands in South Korean presidential compound

South Korean officials clean up the contents of a trash-carrying balloon sent by North Korea after in landed on a street in Seoul on July 24, 2024. © Yonhap, AFP

Trash from at least one North Korean balloon hit the South Korean presidential compound in Seoul on Wednesday in what is the first time the fortified no-fly zone has been directly struck by a Pyongyang trash balloon, of which thousands have been launched since May. The balloons are part of a long-standing propaganda conflict between the two countries that has escalated in recent months.  

Trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea hit the South Korean presidential compound Wednesday, security officials told AFP, prompting Seoul to mobilise chemical response teams in the escalating tit-for-tat propaganda war.

It is the first time the South Korean leader's office in downtown Seoul, which is protected by scores of soldiers and a no-fly zone, has been directly hit by any of the thousands of trash-carrying balloons launched by Pyongyang since May.

"The chemical, biological and radiological (warfare) response team has safely collected the trash balloons," the presidential security service told AFP.

"After investigation, results have confirmed that there were no danger or contamination of the object," it said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff had earlier confirmed the North was once again sending the trash-carrying balloons, while Seoul city authorities also issued an alert Wednesday morning.

Read moreNorth Korea says it will stop sending 'trash balloons' into South

"If you find any fallen balloons do not touch them, and report them to the nearest military unit or police station," it said.

According to the Yonhap news agency, the presidential office had been monitoring the balloon in real time, and was aware of exactly where it would land.

"It is difficult to handle midair because we do not know what the balloons may contain," a presidential official said, Yonhap reported.

"There will be no change in our policy of collecting them after they have fallen."

The military has refrained from shooting down the balloons out of concern their contents could spread further and cause more damage, Yonhap said.

The balloons are a security issue for Seoul, but in this instance the North just got lucky, an analyst told AFP.

"It is a security problem since there are different defence facilities for the presidential complex," said Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Women's University. 

"Since the balloons fly with the wind, they fall very randomly. It's difficult to say North Korea intended to do this," he added.

This is the 10th time the North has sent the balloons across the border this year in what it claims is retaliation for anti-regime propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists.

In response to the waves of balloons, South Korea on Sunday resumed "full scale" propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers along the border, directed at North.

Seoul has also fully suspended a tension-reducing military deal and restarted live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.

Read moreNorth Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, one launch fails

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The propaganda broadcasts – a tactic which dates back to that conflict – infuriate Pyongyang, which previously threatened artillery strikes against Seoul's loudspeaker units.

(AFP) 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
From analysis to the latest developments in health, read the most diverse news in one place.
Already a member? Sign in here
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.