North Korea launched balloons carrying trash and feces to South Korea last week, Seoul officials said.
The obnoxious floating orbs were apparently retaliation against South Korean activists who had previously flown anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives containing K-pop music across the border.
Days before the balloons landed in South Korea, a North Korean official promised retaliation via “paper and dirt,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The South Korean military discovered the balloons near the border on Tuesday and warned residents to stay indoors, according to the Journal.
About 260 balloons were eventually found, the largest number ever sent, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Countries have been arguing over messages sent by balloons for years.
The latest barrage of North Korean balloons contained plastic, batteries, pieces of shoes and manure, a JCS official said, according to Yonhap.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry confirmed the presence of NBC fertilizer, not human feces – although the outlet noted that human feces were sent by North Korea in 2016.
The latest skirmish comes as North Korea failed to launch a spy satellite on Monday, which exploded in mid-flight.
South Korean media reported that Russia was helping with the effort, with a number of its technicians entering the country before the botched launch.
businessinsider
