By Kyle Anzalone – Libertarian Institute
Seoul says it is scrapping a 2018 military agreement with Pyongyang after North Korea floated hundreds of trash-filled balloons into South Korea. Pyongyang says the trash was a response to a years-long South Korean campaign that sent balloons aimed at undermining the government of Kim Jong-un into North Korea.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of Supreme Leader Kim, issued a statement last week that said North Koreans had placed “toilet paper and waste” into balloons and floated them into South Korea. Seoul reported hundreds of balloons entering South Korea and said some contained manure.
Kim asserted that the North Korean balloons were sent in response to balloons that South Korea floats across the border with information aimed at fomenting dissent against Pyongyang.
“Now, the trashy Koreans are brazenly claiming that their leaflet distribution against us is “freedom of expression” and that our actions that correspond to them are a “clear violation of international law.” She continued, “Are “freedom of expression” and “international law” regulated depending on the direction in which the balloon flies?”
On Sunday, Pyongyang said it would stop sending its balloons if Seoul cut the practice as well. South Korea responded to the balloon quarrel by fully terminating a 2018 military pact that limited activity along the Korean border. Last year, Seoul partially walked back from its commitments in the agreement after Pyongyang successfully launched a spy satellite in space.
US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have taken a hardline stance towards North Korea. The policy has resulted in hundreds of North Korean missile tests, the elimination of de-escalation agreements, the remilitarization of the Korean border, and a reduction in communication between Washington, Seoul, and Pyongyang.