The rising tensions between the two Koreas are being reflected in an unusual way: a literal rain of hundreds of balloons loaded with garbage. Over the past few months, South Koreans have occasionally seen the sky dotted with whitish spheres and bags full of dirty paper, plastic, cigarette butts and even fertilizer. They come from across the border from North Korea, in response to activists who have sent articles from the South condemning Kim Jong-un’s government.

The “surprise” balloon dance may seem anecdotal, but it has reached a staggering frequency, already affecting dozens of flights, reaching the Presidential Office in Seoul… and straining relations between the two neighboring countries.

500 balloons in 24 hours. That’s the astonishing shower of balloons South Korea has received this week: almost half a thousand in 24 hours, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced yesterday. The inflatable balloons are infiltrating South Korea’s airspace from its garbage-laden northern neighbor, and under the watchful eye of Seoul authorities, who have already suffered many fears due to their own accusations, in addition to seeing how the spheres spread garbage on the streets.

How many balloons are there? It is not easy to name many, though. The numbers vary depending on the source consulted, but some estimates say a dozen balloon shipments have been made in just two months, and hundreds of thousands of waste balloons have been received in South Korea since May.

Some estimates suggest nearly 2,000 balloons, others say that this barrier has already been broken, and some believe that the number is closer to 3,000, which doesn’t seem far off considering that there were already balloons in May. More than 250 are being mentioned. In early June, authorities were talking about 720 artifacts found in the Seoul metropolitan area and some provinces further south, and this week alone, almost 500 artifacts were counted in 24 hours.

So how much garbage is this? The other question is… how much garbage has been dumped in South Korea? It’s not easy to tell. Images released by the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff show bags filled with waste and held up by balloons, which Seoul directly links to the country led by Kim Jong-un. In June, they criticized it as “North Korea is once again launching balloons full of garbage into the South.”

Around the same time, North Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il gave some hints about the scope of the campaign: He acknowledged that the country had sent 15 tons of waste to its southern neighbor via 3,500 balloons.

(Much) more than waste. The balloons are not only significant because of their numbers and contents; at least to date, no dangerous objects have been detected among them. In addition to drawing the attention of South Korean authorities and straining relations between the two countries, the balloons have also significantly affected air traffic. Reuters reports on the disruption of flights and impacted operations at Gimpo and Incheon airports, while Channel NewsAsia notes that the devices have disrupted more than a hundred flights carrying thousands of passengers.

Balloons with timer. Reuters assures that one of the last balloons caught fire on top of a residential building in Gyeonggi, a province near Seoul, forcing firefighters into action. The important thing is that some of the devices have equipment that allows them to explode during flight.

“There is a timer on the garbage balloons that has the effect of popping them and dispersing the garbage after a certain period of time,” warned Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Yonhap news agency claims that one of the balloons landed at the Seoul Presidential Office in the Yongsan district, but a later analysis showed that “the contents pose no danger.”

But… Balloons, why? Ironically, Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, began referring to the balloons as a “gift” to South Korea and a demonstration of North Koreans’ “freedom of expression.” The deputy defense minister also referred to them in June as a “disgusting” measure that showed “how much effort is needed” for Seoul to clean up the waste, a reference he soon took on himself when he explained: “If the clans continue to send anti-North Korea leaflets, the Republic of Korea, an abbreviation for the official name of North Korea, we will respond by spreading dirty paper and garbage.”

Kim Kang Il’s report is not free. The massive launch of garbage-filled balloons is seen as Pyongyang’s response to shipments of refugees and South Korean activists across the border into North Korea, using their own balloons or messages over public address systems. What is troubling Kim Jong-un’s government is its content.

In addition to food and drugs, the shipments will also include pamphlets and USBs featuring K-pop songs and K-dramas. Even the South Korean Army used loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda against the northern regime amid the balloon crisis. Tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul have escalated to such extremes that a few months ago, Jong-un destroyed a 2018 military agreement while referring to the south as “enemy number 1” as more and more people live in the neighboring country. We want Seoul to have its own nuclear arsenal.

Image by Ryan Chan (Flickr)

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