South Korea to restart loudspeaker broadcasts into North to combat trash balloons

JUNE 9, 2024 3:15 AM ET
By Associated Press



This photo provided by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and released by South Korea Defense Ministry, shows a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, on the Han River in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 9, 2024. North Korea flew hundreds of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea again in its third such campaign since late May, the South’s military said, just days after South Korean activists floated their own balloons to scatter propaganda leaflets in the North. (South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff via AP)
AP/South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it will restart anti-North Korean propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas in response to continuing North Korean campaigns to drop trash on the South with balloons.

Following an emergency security meeting led by South Korean national security director Chang Ho-jin, the officials decided to install and begin the loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas on Sunday, Seoul’s presidential office said in a statement. The move is certain to anger North Korea and potentially prompt it to take its own retaliatory military steps.

Chang and other South Korean security officials berated Pyongyang for attempting to cause “anxiety and disruption” in South Korea and stressed that North Korea will be “solely responsible” for any future escalation of tensions between the Koreas.

North Korea over the weekend flew hundreds of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea in its third such campaign since late May, the South’s military said, just days after South Korean activists floated their own balloons to scatter propaganda leaflets in the North.

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