The War of Balloons and Loudspeakers at the Korean Border; Sending Balloons Containing Waste from North Korea, Broadcasting Advertisements from South Korean Loudspeakers

The South Korean military has announced that the country resumed broadcasting loudspeakers directed at North Korea on Sunday, June 9, following a warning to Pyongyang to refrain from sending waste-carrying balloons to South Korea. The South Korean military stated that Seoul's decision to resume broadcasting programs – as a form of psychological warfare – came after North Korea began launching approximately 330 balloons containing waste on Saturday, with nearly 80 balloons released over the South Korean border. Reuters quoted the South Korean National Security Council as saying, "We are taking measures that may be unbearable for the North Korean regime, but will send a message of light and hope to the forces and people of North Korea." South Korea had warned Pyongyang that it would take retaliatory actions that could include broadcasting advertisements from large loudspeakers installed at the border. The South Korean military said that the loudspeakers began broadcasting programs on Sunday afternoon; however, "whether more programs will follow depends on North Korea's reaction." The South Korean military later stated on Sunday that more balloons had been launched by North Korea that could fly southward. Seoul has warned residents in border areas not to touch anything connected to the balloons. North Korea began sending balloons carrying waste and animal manure across the border in May, claiming that this action was "in retaliation for anti-North leaflets distributed by South Korean activists as part of a propaganda campaign." On June 3, North Korea announced that it would temporarily halt the balloon launches "because sending 15 tons of waste is likely enough to convey the message." However, it also stated that if leaflets were sent again from the South, it would send back a hundred times more. A group of South Korean activists defied this warning and since then have launched more balloons carrying leaflets criticizing the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, along with USBs containing South Korean pop films and American banknotes towards the North. North Korea has shown very angry reactions to the leaflet distribution campaign and the southern broadcasts from loudspeakers, and in some cases has fired at the balloons and loudspeakers. South Korea had stopped broadcasting these programs based on an agreement signed by the leaders of the two Koreas in 2018, but tensions rose again after Pyongyang advanced its weapons development. South Korean programs include news and global information about democratic and capitalist societies, along with popular K-pop music. It is said that the sound of the loudspeakers can be heard up to more than 20 kilometers deep into North Korea. North Korea's failure to launch a military satellite; Pyongyang sent balloons carrying waste and animal manure to South Korea. North Korea's gift to South Korea: balloons carrying waste and manure. The balloon war between the two Koreas; Seoul says North Korea is likely sending balloons containing waste again towards South Korea. South Korea: North Korean balloons contain cigarette butts and waste paper. North Korea's response to the joint military exercises of South Korea and the US; military exercise "quickly capturing enemy territory" in the presence of Kim Jong Un. North Korea's missile launches again; Pyongyang: we must be fully prepared for a deadly war. North Korean missile launches; the US urged Pyongyang to return to "diplomatic engagement." Tensions on the Korean Peninsula reached their highest level; Kim called for constitutional reform.