North Korea’s trash balloons deepen tensions with the South. Here’s what’s happening between rivals
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s recent launches of trash-carrying balloons have sharply increased animosities with rival South Korea. North Korea floated hundreds of balloons to dump manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth and waste batteries across South Korea. In response, South Korea has vowed “unbearable” retaliatory steps and moved to suspend a fragile deal to ease border tensions with its neighbor. Experts say if South Korea resumes live-fire drills or anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers in border areas, that’s certain to infuriate North Korea and may prompt it to take its own provocative countermeasures along the border.
