North Korea resumed its 11th balloon launch on Saturday, following Kim Jong Un’s remarks that labeled South Korea as “garbage.” Analysts suggest that it is a tactic of Kim, who visited the flood-stricken areas in Sinuiju, trying to divert natural disaster-amplified domestic discontent towards South Korea by treating South Korea as trash.
However, most of the balloons launched this time did not reach South Korea. Although North Korea sent waste balloons toward South Korea, the trash remained within their own borders.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched over 240 waste balloons, with about ten landing in the northern Gyeonggi region by the morning of that day. The balloons contained paper and plastic bottles, but no harmful substances were detected. After a 17-day hiatus since their last trash balloon launch, North Korea resumed its provocations.
North Korea proceeded with the balloon provocation despite winds blowing from the South or Southwest the previous day. This is unusual, as North Korea typically conducts such provocations when winds blow from the West or Northwest, which more favorably carry balloons toward South Korea. This suggests that there was a specific reason for them to send the balloons, even though the wind direction posed a low likelihood of them reaching South Korea.
North Korea’s state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported yesterday that Kim visited flood-affected areas in North Pyongan, Jagang, and Yanggang provinces last week. The paper criticized South Korea’s reports on North Korean flood damage as slanderous propaganda. Kim emphasized the importance of fostering a proper understanding of the situation among party organizations, labor groups, and residents. He stated, “It is important to face this fact and understand the true nature of South Korean garbage. The enemy is unchangeable. Turning this event into an opportunity helps us to comprehend what kind of enemy they are and correct our view of the adversary.”
Yang Moo Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, analyzed that the balloon launches are intended to legitimize treating South Korea as trash and to propagate Kim’s adversarial view of South Korea to the populace. He suggested that North Korea aims to mitigate internal pressures, which may escalate due to the disaster, by emphasizing its adversarial stance towards South Korea and using this situation to strengthen regime cohesion.
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