In late May, North Korea sent two batches of balloons filled with trash – including cigarette butts and waste paper – across the border as its promised response to the launch of balloons filled with propaganda leaflets by South Korean groups. The garbage-filled balloons was a source of fatigue, anxiety and irritation for people across South Korea, causing varying degrees of damage, including a broken windshield.
In response, the South Korean government threatened to resume propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers placed at the border. Just hours later, North Korea announced that it would stop flying garbage across the border, while warning that it was prepared to take further action if South Korea launched more propaganda leaflets. The North promised it would launch trash on a scale a hundred times greater than any leaflets it discovered.
While North Korea’s launch of the garbage balloons has been a hot topic in South Korea in recent days, how have North Korean residents reacted to the news?
Daily NK reached out to two North Koreans living in the border area – a fifty-something resident of Yanggang Province (“A”) and a twenty-something resident of North Pyongan Province (“B”) – to get their opinions on North Korea’s recent policies and behavior toward the South.
Below is Daily NK’s interview with the two North Koreans.
Daily NK: Are you aware that North Korea has flown balloons filled with garbage into South Korea?
A: I heard about that from Chinese traders. After abandoning the unification line that dates back to the Great Leader [Kim Il Sung], now they’re launching trash in balloons. It’s really pathetic. The Great Leader never did anything so crass. I just don’t get why they’re stooping to this level. I also don’t understand why they’re wasting time on this kind of thing when there must be more important things to do.
B: I’m aware. In all honesty, I think that launching balloons full of trash after all the development we’ve achieved reflects poorly on us. I think the young generation needs to find better ways to express our position. And even if we can’t cooperate with each other, I think that seeking a form of peaceful coexistence would be better than stirring up conflict like this. I may not know everything that’s going on, but I see these boorish balloon launches as a national disgrace.