Final warning: Kim Yo Jong threatens retaliation over balloon dispute
16 July 2024 17:26
The sister of Kim Jong Un, North Korea's dictator, has issued a final warning to the authorities of a neighbouring country. The influential regime representative warned that Pyongyang would respond if there was another balloon launch from South Korea.
The North Korean agency KCNA conveyed warnings issued by Kim Yo Jong on Tuesday. The message from Kim Jong Un's sister is meant to scare Seoul and end the South's propaganda activities.
The wind blows balloons beyond the buffer zone on the border of the two countries, which can reach the North's residents. According to the KCNA report, balloons contain dangerous cargo. Propaganda leaflets are packed into bags attached to the balloons. They contain content directed against the authorities in Pyongyang.
Balloon war. Humanitarian aid from South Korea, rubbish from the South
"The situation seems to be unacceptable. Once again, I issue a stern warning," the agency quoted Kim Yo Jong as saying. The woman also said the balloons cause "inconvenience to residents."
Tuesday's warnings are another attempt to deal with this irritating regime procedure. On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong promised that South Korea would pay a "very high price" for these leaflets.
They have already been discovered in 17 places in the border region.
Representatives of the Korean regime have long been addressing the issue of these balloon launches. So far, however, they have mostly spoken of "rubbish" and "filth" sent by the neighbour into North Korean territory.
No one mentions what the packages prepared by South Korean activists contain. It is humanitarian aid. In addition to leaflets containing words of support and encouragement, food, medicine, and discs with South Korean TV series are packed into the bags attached to the balloons.
Pyongyang has already conducted several "retaliatory actions." More than two thousand balloons containing waste paper, worn clothing, and soil with traces of human faeces and parasites have been sent across the border.
- Once again, I emphasise that all responsibility lies with North Korea if any South Korean citizens suffer harm because of balloons carrying rubbish from the North - said Col. Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Monday.
