North Korea’s trash balloons terrorize skyways

By: Park Woo-sung

Since May 28, North Korea has launched a series of six attacks on South Korea, releasing a total of more than 2,000 trash balloons. North Korea has not only launched missiles, but also sprayed trashy garbage into South Korea from the air. While North Korea’s behavior was effective enough to draw the attention of the international community and South Koreans, who have been accustomed to the news of missile launches, North Korea has proven itself to be an abnormal country and a terrorist state that threatens the international community.

It’s striking that North Korea is a country that was recognized by the world and joined the United Nations in 1991. North Korea’s trash balloon attacks can only be described as an acknowledgment that it has abandoned its statehood and recognized itself as an abnormal state. North Koreans had hoped that their lives would improve under Kim Jong Un, but instead, the dictatorship has only gotten worse and the people have been subjected to even greater control. Since the pandemic, human rights in North Korea have become even more repressed and the economy has continued to deteriorate. Yet the regime continues to waste money on nuclear weapons and missile development without regard for the human rights and suffering of the North Korean people. In addition to its constant verbal and missile provocations against the South Korean government, the regime has also provoked South Korea by sending balloons filled with trash to South Korea.

North Korea’s provocations with sewage balloons are not only crude and fanatical, but they are also serious acts of terrorism that threaten citizens and foreigners alike. North Korea’s trash balloons have damaged citizens’ vehicles, home windows, and rooftop roofs, and even caused fires due to malfunctioning detonators. This caused serious property damage and created a dizzying situation that could have led to human casualties. It also disrupted the takeoff and landing of aircraft at Incheon International Airport in the early morning hours of June 26th. Incheon International Airport explained that it controlled takeoffs and landings due to the possibility of an accident if foreign objects were sucked into the engines of airplanes in flight. This means that North Korea’s trash balloons could lead to major accidents on domestic and international flights. In the end, North Korea’s provocation with these balloons is a serious act of terrorism that threatens the daily lives and safety of all people, both South Koreans and foreigners. This issue is a serious challenge to the international community, because there is possibility that North Korea may carry out terrorist acts in the future with biological and chemical agents instead of trash.

North Korea’s provocations with trash balloons are not just a threat to the South Korean people, but also to all citizens of the world traveling to and from South Korea, and should treated as a serious act of terrorism by the international community. Therefore, the international community must condemn North Korea’s provocations in terms of international law and ethics and strongly hold the Kim Jong Un regime accountable. We hope that the international community will strictly condemn North Korea’s extraordinary provocations and work together to pressure the North Korean regime to stop its low-level provocations to ensure a safe future for the international community. The international community must take an active role in responding to North Korea’s sewage balloon terrorism.