North Korea has vowed to stop sending thousands of trash-filled balloons over its border into South Korea following the southern neighbor’s threat to blitz the northern country with messages that expose human rights violations against citizens.
The two countries reached an agreement Sunday evening local time after South Korea threatened to broadcast loudspeaker messages into North Korea that would tell North Korean citizens about world news and share Korean Pop music — all of which the North Korean regime does not allow in the country.
Kim Kang Il, a North Korean vice defense minister, said in a statement to state media that the country had temporarily suspended the balloon-launching of sacks filled with garbage.
“We made the ROK (Republic of Korea) clans get enough experience of how much unpleasant they feel and how much effort is needed to remove the scattered wastepaper,” Kim said.
North Korea dropped 700 balloons across South Korea in recent days in addition to 260 balloons found several days earlier, according to the South Korean military.
Kim claimed that the total of balloons filled with garbage sent over was actually approximately 3,500, a move that has put some South Koreans on edge.
The balloons contained paper and vinyl, animal manure, cigarette butts, and pieces of cloth but no dangerous items, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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The move was meant, in part, to drive up tensions ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, according to experts who spoke with the Associated Press.
South Korea threatened earlier on Sunday to launch “unbearable” measures against North Korea if it continued the balloon activities, including leafleting pamphlets and oral messages to North Korea to inform citizens about the authoritarian regime it lived under. North Koreans may not view, watch, or read any foreign media or news.
