Kim Jong Un's Minister Says North Korea Won't Be Sending Manure-Filled Balloons Anymore But Warns Resumption If South Korea Allows Anti-Pyongyang Leaflets

North Korea announced on Sunday it would cease sending balloons filled with trash over the border to South Korea, but warned it would restart if anti-North Korean leaflets were flown from the South.

What Happened: The North’s vice-minister of defense, Kim Kang Il, stated that South Korea has experienced the unpleasantness and effort required to collect the trash, Reuters reported on Monday.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol held a National Security Council meeting to address the issue. The council condemned the act as an “irrational act of provocation” and discussed potential retaliatory measures, including resuming loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts.

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Emergency alerts were issued in North Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces and parts of Seoul, advising residents not to touch the balloons and to notify the police. The South Korean Defence Minister, Shin Won-sik, discussed the violation of the armistice agreement with U.S. Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd at a conference in Singapore.

Why It Matters: South Korea accused North Korea of sending balloons filled with trash and excrement over the border. The South Korean military had to deploy its explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team to inspect and collect the objects. An alert was issued, urging residents to avoid and report any sightings.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the balloons, carrying garbage such as cigarette butts and plastic, were found across the capital Seoul from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon.

Just days later, North Korea escalated tensions further by launching 18 short-range ballistic missiles. This show of force was guided by leader Kim Jong Un and was reported by North Korea's state news agency KCNA as a demonstration of its readiness to launch a pre-emptive strike against South Korea if necessary. The missiles were launched from 600mm "super-large" multiple rocket launchers.

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Image by Goga Shutter via Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari