SEOUL - South Korea's military maintained its loudspeaker broadcasts for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday, amid ongoing tensions with North Korea, which has launched another series of balloons believed to be carrying trash across the border.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the broadcasts started at 6 a.m. and will continue until 10 p.m., aimed at countering North Korea's psychological warfare. The latest balloon launch targeted the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul. The JCS has advised the public to avoid handling the debris and to report any findings to the authorities. This incident is part of a broader pattern, with North Korea having sent over 2,000 such balloons in nine separate occasions as a response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets dispersed by defectors from the North.
The situation escalated last week with a warning from Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatening severe consequences if South Korea continues to allow defectors to send leaflets northward. South Korea had initially paused its loudspeaker broadcasts, which resumed for the first time in six years on June 9, to avoid exacerbating tensions but restarted them on Thursday in reaction to ongoing North Korean provocations.