South Korea Resumes Propaganda Broadcasts In Response To Kim Jong Un's North Korea Sending Trash-Carrying Balloons Across Border

In a recent development, South Korea’s military has recommenced its anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts. This move comes as a response to North Korea’s recent launch of trash-carrying balloons, as stated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

What Happened: The broadcasts started on Thursday evening and continued into early Friday in areas where the balloons were launched. The JCS did not provide further details, Yonhap reported on Friday.

“The military’s response going forward will fully depend on North Korea’s actions,” the JCS stated.

This marks the first anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts near the border since June 9, when South Korea resumed the broadcasts after a six-year hiatus in response to North Korea’s repeated balloon campaigns. Since late May, North Korea has sent over 2,000 trash-carrying balloons into South Korea in retaliation for North Korean defectors’ anti-Pyongyang leaflets.

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The JCS has detected around 200 trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea since Thursday, with approximately 40 landing in the northern area of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul.

Why It Matters: South Korea’s decision to resume the broadcasts comes in the wake of the country’s first-ever North Korean Defectors’ Day celebration, which honored the approximately 34,000 North Koreans who have escaped the oppressive rule of Pyongyang. Despite the joyous occasion, the event also highlighted the struggles that defectors face upon arrival in South Korea.

Furthermore, this move by South Korea follows a stern warning from Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to South Korea over a new leafleting campaign by its civilians. Since late May, North Korea has been retaliating against South Korean activists' political leaflets by sending trash-filled balloons across the border.

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Image by Aritra Deb via Shutterstock

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