South Korea to Suspend Peace Deal With North Korea Over Trash Balloons
TimeMay 29
SKorea Resumes Loudspeaker Broadcasts in Response to NKorea Trash Balloons
Above: North Korean defectors, now living in South Korea, prepare to release balloons carrying propaganda leaflets denouncing recent North Korea's nuclear test, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on September 15, 2016 in Paju, South Korea. Image copyright: Chung Sung-Jun/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
In response to the thousands of debris-and-manure-filled balloons North Korea recently sent across its border, South Korea on Sunday resumed its loudspeaker broadcasts in border regions.
South Korea's decision to resume loudspeaker broadcasts led the North to launch a new round of balloons filled with trash across the border. In addition, Kim Jong Un's sister issued threats of further escalation if the South continued with its "psychological warfare."
The Spin
Anti-North Korea Narrative
The ongoing tit-for-tat balloon campaign on both sides of the border is dangerously close to escalating into a military confrontation. North Korea is fully responsible for this situation and must stop sending balloons filled with trash across the border. The South Korean government is committed to standing up to any provocations and has chosen to restart its broadcasts aimed at its northern adversary.
Pro-North Korea narrative
For some time now, South Korean activists have been sending subversive pamphlets into North Korea via balloons, despite a ban. Disinformation is a key motive — especially against North Korea’s nuclear program. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government is supportive of such activists. The North is now answering them with both proportionality and wit. The broadcasts are taking the provocations further. They must stop.