South Korea will take “unendurable” measures against North Korea for sending trash-filled balloons across the border, Seoul’s top security official said Sunday.
“North Korea’s flying of trash balloons and GPS jamming are such despicable provocations that could not have been imagined by a normal country,” National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin said.
“As we warned Friday, we will take measures that will be unendurable for North Korea,” Chang added. “We will not sit idly by against any additional provocation by North Korea. We will maintain a firm and thorough preparedness, and will do everything we can to ensure the safety of our people.”
Chang was speaking after presiding over a meeting of the National Security Council, the first such gathering over Pyongyang’s balloon operations.
Chang stressed that, if North Korea repeats its act, “Our action in response will only become more powerful.”
Another high-ranking official in the presidential office said steps by South Korea include the possible resumption of
propaganda campaigns via loudspeakers along the border.
“We will not rule out the possibility of restarting our loudspeaker campaign,” the official said, on the condition of anonymity. “And we will obviously take all the steps as necessary.”
The official added that some concrete action will be taken “in the very near future.”
“I think that will have an impact on North Korea,” the official continued. “We will not hesitate any longer. We clearly warned North Korea, and they responded right away. So we are not going to waste any time ourselves and take whatever steps necessary.”
Earlier in the day, South Korea’s military said North Korea has been sending the trash-carrying balloons to the South since Saturday, despite the South warning it would take “unendurably” painful measures against such provocative acts.
Also Sunday, a South Korean military source claimed, “Loudspeakers against North Korea are ready to resume at any time.”
South Korea’s propaganda campaign via loudspeakers had temporarily resumed in
2010, 2015 and 2016 in the wake of the North’s provocations.
The balloons carried various pieces of trash, such as cigarette butts, paper and plastic bags, just like the previous balloons, according to Seoul’s military.
North Korea previously sent around 260 balloons carrying trash and excrement to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday after it warned of a “tit-for-tat action” against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by the South’s activists.
Source: Yonhap News Agency