We now know likely why a fire was started by one of North Korea’s trash balloons that landed on a building in South Korea:
Timer devices on some North Korean trash-carrying balloons could cause fires, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, amid a series of fires in the country suspected to be caused by the balloons.
On Monday, firefighters put out a blaze that began on the rooftop of a warehouse in Paju, 27 kilometers northwest of Seoul, after a North Korean trash balloon landed there, renewing concerns whether the balloons or the substances they drop could be a fire hazard.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson said some North Korean balloons have dropped bundles of trash using devices that heat up and disconnect the garbage after a certain period of time, noting they could lead to fires if they land on surfaces without properly separating.
You can read more at the link, but clearly this incident shows how the trash balloons can be weaponized to become a more provocative gray zone weapon. Similar to the Imperial Japanese using balloons to start forest fires in the Pacific Northwest during World War II, these trash balloons could easily be used to start forest fires in South Korea.
Even worse would be if these balloons were launched during conflict to complicate aviation and integrated air and missile defense targeting over South Korea. These balloons clearly have a lot more military potential than just the nuisance they appear to be today.
Fire by N. Korean balloon This photo provided by the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire Service, shows the ceiling of a storehouse damaged by a fire after a balloon sent by North Korea hit it in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, on Sept. 8, 2024. (Yonhap)
North Korea sent more trash balloons toward South Korea on Sunday, the South’s military said, in what marked the fifth straight day of such launches.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North resumed its balloon campaign at around 9 a.m., just hours after it floated some 200 balloons late Saturday.
“Considering the safety of our people as the top priority, the military will resolutely and calmly respond in accordance with the manual,” the JCS said.
In response to the balloon launches, the South’s military has been blasting daily anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border since July 21. It has refrained from directly shooting down the balloons, citing safety concerns.
Around 50 trash bundles landed in the capital and Gyeonggi Province from Saturday’s launch, but no hazardous materials have been found, the JCS said. They largely contained scrap paper, pieces of plastic and plastic bottles.
Hopefully no ROK Heads reading this from Korea finds a bag of shit on their doorstep today:
North Korea again launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Wednesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, marking a resumption of its trash-balloon campaign after a near monthlong halt.
The JCS said an unspecified number of balloons could travel to northern Gyeonggi Province, just north of Seoul, and advised the public not to touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police.
Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. Pyongyang last launched such balloons on Aug. 10.
This is a low cost provocation that North Korea could probably keep doing indefinitely to keep the pressure on the Yoon administration over the propaganda balloon launches:
North Korea launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea again Saturday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, marking a resumption after more than two weeks.
The JCS said it detected the launches, noting the possibility of the balloons traveling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul despite winds blowing in northern and northeastern directions.
It warned the public of falling objects and not to touch the balloons if discovered, requesting they report them to the military or police.
North Korea has launched more than 3,600 trash balloons since May 28 in a tit-for-tat move against balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. Pyongyang last sent the balloons on July 24.
Incheon International Airport has always been a major vulnerability for South Korea and here is another example of that:
North Korea’s recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South’s main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data.
According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent from North Korea.
The first disruption incident occurred from 10:48 p.m. to 11:42 p.m. on June 1, four days after North Korea first began launching the balloons. The most severe disruption occurred on June 26, when runways were shut down on eight occasions, resulting in 166 minutes of halted takeoffs and landings.
*Updated Balloon Map* A new wave of North Korean trash balloons has landed on the Seoul presidential compound and a U.S. Army base, bringing the total waves of launches this year to 10.
We added 2⃣5⃣ new locations and 3⃣ more waves to our map. Find the latest map depicting North… pic.twitter.com/A6BDou9R8G
The tit-for-tat balloon antics between North and South continue:
A trash-carrying balloon sent by North Korea landed on the presidential office compound Wednesday, the Presidential Security Service (PSS) said.
The PSS said it discovered fallen trash on the grounds of the presidential compound while monitoring the latest batch of balloons flown by the North earlier in the day.
North Korea has sent thousands of trash-filled balloons toward South Korea since May in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by activists in South Korea across the border.
This tit-for-tat is better than the two Koreas shooting at each other:
South Korea’s military blared K-pop songs and news through its loudspeakers across the border with North Korea on Sunday as it stepped up its psychological campaign in response to North Korea’s repeated launches of trash balloons.
The move came five days after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned of “gruesome and dear” consequences over continued leaflet campaigns seen by North Korea as psychological warfare.
North Korea has sent more than 2,000 trash-filled balloons into the South over nine occasions in a tit-for-tat retaliation for anti-Pyongyang leaflets that North Korean defectors in South Korea send to North Korea using balloons.
“As we have warned numerous times, we will conduct loudspeaker broadcasts in full-scale at all fronts starting from 1 p.m.,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a notice to reporters.
The propaganda broadcasts typically comprise news, a message urging North Korean soldiers near the border to escape to South Korea as well as K-pop songs, including global K-pop sensation BTS’ megahit singles “Dynamite” and “Butter.”
Here is the Korean left’s latest attempt to silence the activists that fly anti-regime balloons into North Korea:
Materials believed to be anti-Pyongyang leaflets from South Korea are set on fire after being discovered in North Korea, in this photo released by the North’s Korean Central News Agency on July 14, 2024.
The unification ministry on Wednesday struck a cautious note about opposition lawmakers’ legislative attempt to ban Seoul activists’ sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, citing the right of freedom of expression.
In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that a clause banning leaflet launches in the law on the development of inter-Korean relations is unconstitutional, saying it excessively restricts the right to freedom of expression.
The decision paved the way for North Korean defectors and activists to resume their leaflet campaigns toward North Korea. In retaliation, the North has sent more than 2,000 trash-filled balloons into the South since late May.
Several lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party have proposed revisions to the law to restrict such leaflet launches while taking into account the intent of the court’s ruling.
“When it comes to a revision to the law, there is a need for a cautious approach, given that the court’s ruling underscores freedom of expression as a constitutional value that is the basis of democracy,” the ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said in a report to the National Assembly.
