North Korea has been continuing to fly balloons filled with trash over the border into South Korea since the end of May. As of mid-June, North Korea has sent more than 1,000 balloons filled with trash and manure into South Korea, a move which Seoul previously described as “base and dangerous.” South Korean authorities discovered balloons tied to bags containing manure, cigarette butts, waste batteries, and waste papers; whilst no highly dangerous materials were found, some balloons were popped on the road, residential areas, and schools, and emergency alerts were issued in impacted provinces. The trash balloon campaign is apparently in retaliation for the South Korean government broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda, as well as South Korean civilian activists sending leaflets critical of North Korean leadership in border areas. In mid-June, the South Korean government redeployed loudspeakers along the border and broadcasted K-pop music, weather forecasts, and criticism of North Korea’s missile program as well as its crackdown on foreign video. The resumed broadcasts and balloon campaigns could potentially trigger military retaliation as tensions continue to rise between the two powers whilst diplomatic negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear missile program remain at a standstill.

At a conference in Singapore on 2 June, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik told the U.S. Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd that the balloon activities violated the armistice agreement, according to South Korea’s military. The two powers reaffirmed a joint response to North Korean threats and provocations based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Following the initial rounds of balloon activity, South Korea said it would take “unendurable” measures against North Korea. On 9 June, North Korea sent a new wave of balloons following warnings from Kim Yo Jong,  Kim Jong Un’s sister, that South Korea would see further responses if it maintains its “psychological warfare”, and that continued loudspeaker broadcasts would be “a prelude to a very dangerous situation”, as reported by CNN. Following an emergency security meeting led by Chang Ho-jin on 9 June, South Korea’s national security director, officials decided to install and begin loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said in a statement. Chang and other South Korean officials emphasized that North Korea will be “solely responsible” for future escalation between the two powers. 

North and South Korea have technically remained at war since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, instead of a peace treaty. The democratic South is a U.S. ally with a sophisticated military, while the North is currently developing nuclear and missile technology that the U.S. and Seoul say violates U.N. resolutions. South Korea’s resumption of loudspeaker propaganda campaigns is reflective of Cold War tactics; South Korea would also use electronic billboards, whilst North Korea set up signs with the message: “Let’s Establish a Confederate Nation!” written on them. In 2018, South and North Korea agreed to halt the “psychological warfare” including loudspeaker broadcasts in a tension-easing agreement. Analysts say North Korea, which blocks most of its population’s access to foreign news, is sensitive to such broadcasts because it fears that it will demoralize troops and residents, ultimately weakening Chairman Kim Jong Un’s power. However, on 9 June, Seoul decided to suspend the agreement, which has allowed South Korea to resume loudspeaker broadcasts and potentially restart live-fire military exercises in border areas. It is essential that the rival powers do not end up in a tit for tat without ending the current diplomatic stalemate and resuming talks. The current exchanges between North and South Korea have dangerous potential to further escalate if they continue. “At this point, both Koreas are trying to pressure and deter each other with politically symbolic actions,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told AP News. “The problem is that neither side wants to be seen as backing down, and tensions at the border could escalate to unintended conflict.”