South Korea warns of retaliation if North continues provocations

The South Korean government on Friday urged North Korea to stop its provocations, warning that it will respond with severe measures if they continue.

Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman at the Unification Ministry, speaks about the government's stance on North Korea's latest provocative acts at Government Complex Seoul on Friday.

The South Korean government on Friday urged North Korea to stop its provocations, warning that it will respond with severe measures if they continue.

"We express the strongest regret over the North's nonsensical and irrational provocations against us, including the dispatch of feces-filled balloons, GPS signal jamming attacks and ballistic missile launches, which have continued this week," the Unification Ministry said in a statement.

"North Korea should first take care of the lives of its 26 million residents who are suffering under its totalitarian oppressive rule instead of launching reckless and futile provocations," the statement read. "The South Korean government views the North's recent provocations sternly, and will not just sit back and watch."

North Korea has been staging multiple provocations against South Korea this week.

On Wednesday, the South Korean military confirmed that the North had sent over 260 balloons carrying feces and trash to the South on Tuesday night, followed by GPS signal jamming attacks the next day.

On Thursday morning, North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) into the East Sea. Shortly after the SRBM launches, the South Korean military detected North Korea's Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming signals starting around 7:50 a.m. in the area north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL). South Korea's military detected another attempt by the North to jam GPS signals on Friday morning.

Two balloons suspected to be sent from North Korea are spotted on a farming field in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Earlier in the day, South Korean military raised concerns about the possibility of North Korea sending excrement-filled balloons to the country again on Saturday as northerly winds are expected that day.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said they are closely monitoring North Korea's activities and will notify the press if any excrement-filled balloons are discovered, according to local media reports.

However, the JCS said they have not yet observed any conspicuous moves from the North. The military warned citizens to be cautious of falling objects and advised them not to touch any balloons they encounter.

South Korea has been collecting balloons filled with contaminated materials sent from the North instead of shooting them down or blocking them. The military said that collecting the trash swiftly is a "safer and more efficient" approach, given the limitations of intercepting the balloons.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]