North Korea flies balloons with excrement into South Korea as ‘gifts of sincerity’

North Korea drops balloons carrying excrement into South Korea

North Korea has reportedly sent balloons carrying bags of trash and excrement over to South Korea. Around 260 balloons have been found, leading authorities to caution citizens to stay indoors.

North Korea was reported saying that the balloons were retaliation for propaganda materials that South Korea-based activists have sent over.

North Korea floats balloons attached with trash bags into South Korea

On Tuesday (28 May) night, residents of South Korea were met with a number of white balloons carrying bags of trash and even manure. The balloons were reportedly floated over to South Korea from Noth Korea.

According to BBC, photos shared on social media showed that the bags contained batteries, toilet paper, manure, and various rubbish. Other images showed trash strewn around a collapsed ballon including what Reuters reports as a bag with the word “excrement” written on it.

BBC further notes that South Korea’s news agency Yonhap even reported that some  contents of the bags attached to the fallen balloons carried “what appears to be faeces judging from its dark colour and odour”.

South Korean authorities said that by Wednesday (29 May) afternoon, around 260 balloons have been found, as reported by Reuters. They have landed in eight out of nine provinces in South Korea, reports BBC.

According to Yonhap News, some of these balloons flew as far south as Geochang, located 200 kilometres south of Seoul.

South Korean authorities have urged the public to remain indoors in light of this incident.

The South Korean military has also deployed reponse teams from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and bomb disposal response units to collect the objects and they are now being analysed.

The authorities also instructed the South Korean public to report any further sightings to authorities.

Poop balloons were retaliation for South Korean activists

According to Reuters, North Korea said that the balloons were retaliation for North Korean defectors and South Korean activists. These activists were reported to have frequently sent over propaganda leaflets, food, medicine, as well as USB sticks containing South Korea pop media to North Korea via balloons.

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, and a high-ranking party official, also issued a statement to North Korean state media. She called the balloons “gifts of sincerity” for the South Koreans. She even made a promise to send over a dozen times the number of items that she said the South had sent over to the North.

The South Korean governments have previously tried to introduce bans on sending propaganda leaflets into North Korea. However, these were ruled unconstitutional by their courts, indicating that it was a violation of the freedom of speech.

Also read: New North Korean song praising Kim Jong Un a hit on TikTok, South Korea to block access

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Featured image adapted from Reddit.