K-Poop: Why North & South Korea are weaponising balloons and broadcasts

A move straight out of a bizarre playbook, South Korea has reignited its anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

In a strange twist to the simmering conflict between North and South Korea, the two nations have resumed their unconventional tactics, weaponising trash, K-pop, and loudspeakers in a smelly and noisy war of psychological attrition.

A Dirty War

South Korea has revived its anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts along the border in a direct response to North Korea's bizarre provocations: sending over 1,000 balloons filled with garbage, used toilet paper, and cigarette butts into South Korea. This tit-for-tat exchange underscores the lengths each side is willing to go to out-weird the other.

North Korea's flotilla of garbage balloons is apparently a response to unconventional aerial assault by South Korean activists. These activists have been lobbing balloons filled with political pamphlets and USB drives bursting with South Korean dramas and K-pop into the North, in an attempt to show the northerners what they’re missing out on. The North Korean government considers such utterly bourgeois entertainment  a threat to the regime, potentially demoralising its troops and citizens while undermining premier Kim Jong Un's tight grip on power.

"Kim [Jong Un] is more afraid of BTS than US nukes," quipped Victor Cha, a Georgetown University professor, highlighting the North Korean leader's fear of outside cultural influence. Speaking to Vox, he noted that South Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts, known for blasting anti-Pyongyang messages, K-pop hits, and international news along the border, are a powerful tool in this psychological skirmish.

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Aishwarya Dabhade

Senior Sub Editor, Editorial and Content|Moneycontrol

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Broadcasts & Bombs

South Korea has a history of deploying loudspeakers along the heavily fortified border. In 2015, after South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in 11 years, North Korea responded by firing artillery rounds across the border, leading to a brief exchange of fire. Although no casualties were reported, the incident highlighted the potential of such broadcasts to trigger military confrontations.

On Sunday (June 9, 2024) afternoon, South Korea’s military confirmed that it had resumed loudspeaker broadcasts, as reported by AP. However, the military did not specify the exact locations or content of the broadcasts. This decision followed North Korea’s balloon campaign, which Seoul condemned as an attempt to cause “anxiety and disruption.” South Korean security officials stressed that the North would be “solely responsible” for any further escalation.

Suspended Agreement

Last week, South Korea suspended a 2018 agreement designed to reduce hostile acts along the border, citing North Korea’s continued provocation. This agreement, known as the Comprehensive Military Agreement, had established buffer zones to prevent military action. However, the North’s recent missile tests and aggressive stance have strained this agreement. In 2023, South Korea partially suspended the pact after North Korea launched a spy satellite, leading North Korea to declare the agreement invalid.

Military Preparedness, Public Safety

According to a report by AP, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik has called for thorough preparations against possible North Korean military action in response to the loudspeaker broadcasts. The South’s military has mobilised chemical rapid response and explosive clearance units to deal with the North Korean balloons, which have so far contained only trash and no hazardous substances. The public has been warned against touching any balloons, and to report them to authorities.

Going Ballistic

In addition to the balloon campaign, North Korea has been jamming GPS signals over the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, potentially endangering civilian air and maritime traffic. The North has also fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles and rounds from 18 multiple rocket launchers into the Sea of Japan.

North Korea’s Vice Defence Minister, Kim Kang Il, has announced that the balloon campaign would stop, but threatened to resume it if South Korean activists continued sending leaflets.

As trash-filled balloons soar and loudspeaker broadcasts waft across the border, an amused and anxious world watches a bizarre showdown that underscores the delicate balance of power in one of the world's most volatile regions.