It has been identified that North Korea dispersed about 250 waste balloons toward the South starting from the night of the 25th.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 26th, the South Korean military identified a total of about 250 North Korean waste balloons from the previous night until 9 a.m. today. Currently, none are being identified in the air.
About 100 waste balloons fell in the South Korean area, mainly in the northern part of Gyeonggi and Seoul, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported.
The balloons’ contents mainly were pieces of paper, and no harmful substances were found in the investigation. However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff judged that since the balloon carried 22 pounds of trash, there was a risk when it crashed.
Previously, North Korea sent about 2000 waste balloons across the border in five rounds on the 28th and 29th of last month and the 1st and 2nd, 8th and 9th, 9th, and 24th of this month, in response to the spread of anti-North leaflets by defector groups in South Korea.
At around 9:48 p.m. the previous night, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced through a text message notice to the Ministry of National Defense reporters that “the current wind direction is northwest, it is moving southeast from the northern Gyeonggi area,” and that was the delivery of the 6th waste balloon had been sprayed.
Regarding the implementation of North Korean psychological warfare broadcasts (loudspeakers) in response to the spraying of North Korean waste balloons, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “We are ready to implement immediately, and we will flexibly proceed according to strategic and operational situations,” and explained, “This depends on North Korea’s behavior.”
After the waste balloon spray, North Korea launched a ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea at around 5:30 a.m. today. The missile flew about 155 miles before exploding mid-air and falling into the sea off Wonsan, Gangwon Province. It is presumed to be a hypersonic missile.
Such complex provocations from North Korea are interpreted as protests against the anti-North leaflets by defector groups, as well as the joint training of South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the US 9th Carrier Strike Group are set to sail from Busan Port today to conduct joint naval exercises with South Korea and Japan soon.
Yesterday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol boarded the docked Roosevelt, showcasing the solid ROK-US alliance towards North Korea.
For the first time since the complete suspension of the 9/19 inner-Korea Comprehensive Military Agreement, live-fire training of our Marine Corps’ K-9 self-propelled guns towards the West Sea buffer zone is also scheduled soon.
Yesterday, live-fire training of our Army’s Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) K-239 Chunmoo was also conducted.
