South resumes loudspeaker broadcast in response to further North Korean waste balloons

South Korea resumed its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts Thursday evening in response to North Korea's dispatch of trash-filled balloons for the eighth time this year.

Loudspeakers being taken down at a western front-line unit in June 2004. [YONHAP]

South Korea resumed its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts Thursday evening in response to North Korea's dispatch of trash-filled balloons for the eighth time this year.

North Korea sent over 200 waste balloons from 5 p.m. Thursday until early Friday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Approximately 40 of these balloons landed in the South, particularly in northern Gyeonggi near the border. The JCS confirmed that the contents of the balloons consisted mostly of "paper waste" and no hazardous materials were found.

Upon identifying North Korea's launch of propaganda balloons, the South Korean military operated the loudspeakers along the front-line areas from 6 p.m. Thursday for about 10 hours until 4 a.m. — compared to the two-hour session the last time on June 9.

The broadcasts resumed at 4 p.m. Friday.

"The military has shown patience, issuing multiple warnings and giving North Korea opportunities to cease such activities [of sending over trash balloons]," the JCS said in a press release Friday afternoon. "However, the North Korean military has ignored these warnings" and "continued this vile behavior even amid severe flood damage affecting both the North and the South."

The JCS attributed all responsibilities to the North Korean military, and warned it will implement "even stronger measures", including the full-scale operation of loudspeaker broadcasts if Pyongyang "continues to launch trash balloons or engage in other provocations."

North Korea has been sending balloons filled with trash across the border in response to leaflets sent by South Korean civic groups.

North Korea recently threatened to adopt new methods of retaliation for South Korea's leaflets.

"If [the South] scum persists in their crude and dirty play, the mode of counteraction of the [North] will inevitably be changed," said Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a press statement on Tuesday released through the state-media KCNA's English website.

This statement was interpreted by government and military officials as a hint that North Korea's retaliation would not be limited to waste balloons. In response, South Korean military authorities convened an emergency command meeting the following day, led by Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, where they highlighted potential risks, including North Korea possibly floating mines downriver during heavy rains or conducting surprise discharges from shared rivers like the Imjin River.

Despite adverse weather, North Korea's persistence in launching balloons has prompted the South Korean military to remain vigilant for another provocation.

"We are thoroughly examining the possibility of a complex provocation and are maintaining a state of full readiness," a military official said. Update, July 19 : Comments from the JCS and Kim Yo-jong added.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]