North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means

North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means
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Balloons with trash sent by North Korea hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, on May 29, 2024. (Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters via AP)
North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means
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Balloons with trash sent by North Korea are seen in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea, on May 29, 2024. (South Korea Presidential Office via AP)
North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means
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Trash from a balloon sent by North Korea are scattered on a street in Seoul, South Korea, on May 29, 2024. (South Korea Presidential Office via AP)
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Updated 31 May 2024
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North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means

North Korea dumps trash onto South Korea using hundreds of balloons. Here’s what it means
  • The trash attack is in response to the leafleting campaigns by South Korean activists, says Kim Jong Un's powerful sister
  • Experts say the attack is meant to stoke a division in South Korea over its conservative government’s hard-line policy on North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea: Manure. Cigarette butts. Scraps of cloth. Waste batteries. Even, reportedly, diapers. This week, North Korea floated hundreds of huge balloons to dump all of that trash across rival South Korea — an old-fashioned, Cold War-style provocation that the country has rarely used in recent years.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed Wednesday that North Korea sent the balloons and attached trash sacks. She said they were deployed to make good on her country’s recent threat to “scatter mounds of wastepaper and filth” in South Korea in response to the leafleting campaigns by South Korean activists.
Experts say the balloon campaigning is meant to stoke a division in South Korea over its conservative government’s hard-line policy on North Korea. They also say North Korea will also likely launch new types of provocations in coming months to meddle in November’s US presidential election.
Here’s a look at what North Korea’s balloon launches are all about.
What happened?
Since Tuesday night, about 260 balloons flown from North Korea have been discovered across South Korea. There’s no apparent danger, though: The military said an initial investigation showed that the trash tied to the balloons doesn’t contain any dangerous substances like chemical, biological or radioactive materials.
There have been no reports of damages in South Korea. In 2016, North Korean balloons carrying trash, compact discs and propaganda leaflets caused damage to cars and other property in South Korea. In 2017, South Korea found a suspected North Korean balloon with leaflets again. This week, no leaflets were found from the North Korean balloons.
Flying balloons with propaganda leaflets and other items is one of the most common types of psychological warfare the two Koreas launched against each other during the Cold War. Other forms of Korean psychological battle have included loudspeaker blaring, setting up giant front-line electronic billboards and signboards and propaganda radio broadcasts. In recent years, the two Koreas have agreed to halt such activities but sometimes resumed them when tensions rose.
What does North Korea want?
The North’s balloon launches are part of a recent series of provocative steps, which include its failed spy satellite launch and test-firings of about 10 suspected short-range missiles this week. Experts say the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, will likely further dial up tensions ahead of the US election to try to help former President Donald Trump return to the White House and revive high-stakes diplomacy between them.
“The balloon launches aren’t weak action at all. It’s like North Korea sending a message that next time, it can send balloons carrying powder forms of biological and chemical weapons,” said Kim Taewoo, a former president of South Korea’s government-funded Institute for National Unification.
Koh Yu-hwan, an emeritus professor at Seoul’s Dongguk University, said North Korea likely determined that the balloon campaign is a more effective way to force South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government to clamp down on the South’s civilian leafletting.
“The point is to make the South Korean people uncomfortable, and build a public voice that the government’s policy toward North Korea is wrong,” Koh said.
North Korea is extremely sensitive to leaflets that South Korean activists occasionally float across the border via their own balloons, because they carry information about the outside world and criticism of the Kim dynasty’s authoritarian rule. Most of the North’s 26 million people have little access to foreign news.
In 2020, North Korea blew up an empty, South Korean-built liaison office on its territory in protest of South Korean civilian leafleting campaigns.
Was anything learned from the trash
North Korea is one of the world’s most secretive countries in the world, and foreign experts are keen on collecting any fragmentary information coming from the country.
But Koh said that there won’t be much meaningful information that South Korea can gain from the North Korean trash dumps, because North Korea would have not put any important items into balloons.
If the manure is the kind made of animal dung, its examination may show what fodder is given to livestock in North Korea. Looks at other trash can provide a glimpse into consumer products in North Korea. But observers say outside experts can get such information more easily from North Korean defectors, their contacts in North Korea and Chinese border towns, and North Korean state publications.
What are the efffpfffffnfvvv?
The North’s balloon activities may deepen public calls in South Korea to stop anti-North Korean leafleting to avoid unnecessary clashes. But it’s unclear whether and how aggressively the South Korean government can urge civil groups to refrain from sending balloons toward North Korea.
In 2023, South Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down a contentious law that criminalized the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, calling it an excessive restriction on free speech.
“From Pyongyang’s perspective, this is a tit-for-tat and even restrained action to get Seoul to stop anti-Kim regime leaflets from being sent north. However, it will be difficult for democratic South Korea to comply, given ongoing legal disputes over the freedom of citizens and NGOs to send information into North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
“The immediate danger of military escalation is not high,” he said, “but recent developments show how sensitive and potentially vulnerable the Kim regime is to information operations.”
 

 


North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles before Trump return

North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles before Trump return
Updated 19 sec ago
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North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles before Trump return

North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles before Trump return

SEOUL: North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea Tuesday, according to Seoul’s military, in what experts said could be a message to US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
The launch comes as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visits South Korea for a series of meetings with top officials, with the Asian neighbors seeking to boost bilateral ties before Trump returns to office next week.
“The South Korean military detected several short-range ballistic missiles fired into the East Sea,” Seoul’s military said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
It said the launch took place around 9:30 am (0030 GMT) near North Korea’s Ganggye area, with the missiles flying 250 kilometers (155 miles) before landing in the sea.
“The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the US have detected and monitored North Korea’s missile launch preparations in advance, and immediately detected and tracked them at the time of launch,” the military said.
It said it was maintaining “full readiness” and sharing information with the United States and Japan while “strengthening surveillance and alertness” for more launches.
Seoul’s acting President Choi Sang-mok slammed the launch, saying it violated UN Security Council resolutions.
“Seoul will respond more strongly to North Korea’s provocations based on its strong security posture and alliance with the US,” he said.
Experts said the latest launch could be intended as a message to the incoming Trump administration.
“It could be aimed at the US,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“It may indicate an intention to put pressure ahead of the Trump administration’s second term.”

ASSERT PRESENCE 
Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP the test launch “appears to be an intention to assert presence ahead of the Trump administration.”
He said it could also be aimed at “destabilising South Korea during Seoul’s own period of turmoil,” as suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol faces an impeachment trial that begins Tuesday in the Constitutional Court after a failed martial law bid last month.
Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.
The Tuesday launch is Pyongyang’s second this year, after it fired last week what it said was a new hypersonic missile system.
The location of the test site was undisclosed but images released by North Korean state media KCNA showed leader Kim Jong Un observing last week’s launch with his teenage daughter Ju Ae.
KCNA cited the use of a “new compound of carbon fiber” in the missile’s engine, which experts warned could allow Pyongyang to hit further targets with technology to which only the United States, Russia and China currently have access.
Last week’s alleged hypersonic missile launch came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting South Korea.
While in Seoul, Blinken said Russia was increasing cooperation with Pyongyang, adding they were working ever more closely on advanced space technology.
Ahn said another reason for Tuesday’s launch may be the testing of “missiles for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine.”

RUSSIAN SUPPORT
Blinken also voiced renewed concern that Russia, a veto-wielding UN Security Council member, would formally accept North Korea as a nuclear state in a blow to global consensus that Pyongyang must end its program.
In late October, North Korea test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Days later, it fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles.
US and South Korean intelligence also believe that North Korea in October started to send thousands of troops to fight against Ukraine and has since suffered hundreds of casualties.
But neither North Korea nor Russia has officially confirmed that Pyongyang’s forces are fighting for Moscow.
On Monday, a South Korean lawmaker said around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.
Over the weekend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers, releasing video of the injured combatants being interrogated.


China's deployment of 'monster ship' alarming, says Philippine security official

China's deployment of 'monster ship' alarming, says Philippine security official
Updated 14 January 2025
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China's deployment of 'monster ship' alarming, says Philippine security official

China's deployment of 'monster ship' alarming, says Philippine security official
  • Manila has lodged a protest over the presence of the 165 m long vessel Chinese coast guard vessel 5901

MANILA: The Philippines said China’s deployment of its largest coast guard vessel inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) was alarming and clearly meant to intimidate fishermen operating around a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
“We were surprised about the increasing aggression being showed by the People’s Republic of China in deploying the monster ship,” National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Manila has lodged a protest over the presence of the 165 m long vessel Chinese coast guard vessel 5901, which was spotted 77 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales province, and demanded its withdrawal from the EEZ, Malaya said.
“It is an escalation and provocative,” Malaya said, saying the presence the vessel was “illegal” and “unacceptable.”
The Philippine Coast Guard said it had deployed two of its largest vessels to drive away the Chinese vessel.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that its coast guard’s “patrol and law enforcement activities” were “reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach.”
Tensions between the Philippines, a US treaty ally, and Beijing have escalated over the past two years due to overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
In 2016, an international tribunal ruled China’s claims to large swathes of the disputed waterway had no basis, a decision Beijing rejects.
China’s expansive claims overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The disputed waterway is a strategic shipping route through which about $3 trillion of annual commerce moves.


'Not for the poor': Indonesians in capital face housing, commute woes

'Not for the poor': Indonesians in capital face housing, commute woes
Updated 14 January 2025
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'Not for the poor': Indonesians in capital face housing, commute woes

'Not for the poor': Indonesians in capital face housing, commute woes
  • Residents of the megalopolis of 11 million are finding it impossible to climb the property ladder
  • The price of a Jakarta house is on average 20 times higher than an employee’s annual salary

JAKARTA: Scrolling on social media, Indonesian moviegoer Jessica Sihotang stumbled across a film depicting a fellow woman in her 30s struggling to make the dream of buying a Jakarta home a reality.
Nearly two million like-minded Indonesians tuned in to watch the protagonist’s house-hunting journey when “Home Sweet Loan” was released last year, the movie’s producer said.
Residents of the megalopolis of 11 million are finding it impossible to climb the property ladder, as space shrinks and prices rise, forcing them to seek faraway homes that come with arduous commutes.
The movie sparked widespread chatter among Jakartans, as its main character’s grievances resonated with their own long-held housing woes.
“I can relate so much. I’ve been thinking about it for the past 10 years,” said Sihotang.
“I want to have my own house, but my savings have never been enough even just for the down payment,” added the 35-year-old university admissions worker.
Jakarta is where Indonesia’s growing wealth gap is most evident — with unofficial slum housing sitting below shiny new apartment complexes and skyscrapers.
Less than two-thirds of Jakartans own a home, according to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Bureau, the lowest figure compared to other provinces.
Sihotang said she cannot afford a home within 60 kilometers (37 miles) of her job.
“I have to find side hustles for additional income, or maybe try my luck for a few years abroad” before buying a property, she said.
The price of a Jakarta house is on average 20 times higher than an employee’s annual salary, a University of Indonesia survey in June found.
Jakartans like Rizqi Arifuddin have resorted to buying a house in neighboring provinces.
The office worker in one of Jakarta’s main business districts commutes by train for an hour from his home in West Java province.
He then jumps on a motorcycle taxi for another half an hour to reach the office.
“I can never afford a house in the city. Even researching the prices makes me upset,” he said.
With limited space available in the cramped capital known for its brutal traffic jams, prices have skyrocketed.
Housing complexes are now being built further from the city to meet demand.
“This is the reality, people are now competing for places which at least have access to mass transportation,” said Yayat Supriyatna, an urban planner from Trisakti University in Jakarta.
“Jakarta is not a place for the poor,” he told AFP.
Some Indonesians like Muhammad Faris Dzaki Rahadian and his wife have chosen to rent, rather than buy, a property close to work.
“Even with our joint income, it is still not affordable,” said journalist Rahadian, 27.
“I don’t think buying is a rational option.”
To address the housing crisis, the government will require employees from 2027 to contribute three percent of their salaries to a savings fund which they can use for housing.
But it has angered Indonesians who think it won’t be enough — or that it could be taken from them by a government many distrust.
“Who’s going to benefit? It seems to me that people are getting constantly pressured,” Supriyatna said.
Despite the grim housing market, some are still holding on to their dreams.
“Having a house, no matter how small is a symbol of peace of mind for me,” Sihotang said.
“It will give me peace when I’m old.”


Fire-ravaged Los Angeles in path of dangerous Santa Ana winds

Fire-ravaged Los Angeles in path of dangerous Santa Ana winds
Updated 14 January 2025
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Fire-ravaged Los Angeles in path of dangerous Santa Ana winds

Fire-ravaged Los Angeles in path of dangerous Santa Ana winds
  • Santa Ana winds could reach 75 mph, threatening firefighting efforts
  • At least 24 people dead, 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed

LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles firefighters braced for high winds overnight into Tuesday, gusts that could fuel two monstrous wildfires that have already leveled entire neighborhoods, killed at least two dozen people, and burned an area the size of Washington, D.C.
Dry, dangerous Santa Ana wind gusts reached 30 to 50 mph (48 to 80 kph) later on Monday, but the red flag warning was not due to start until 10 p.m. PST (0600 GMT) with the peak winds that could hit 75 mph (120 kph) starting around 4 a.m. Tuesday (1200 GMT), said David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
More than 8,500 firefighters attacked the fires from the air and on the ground, preventing the conflagrations at either end of Los Angeles from spreading overnight.
“This setup is about as bad as it gets,” and Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told Angelenos, “We are not in the clear.”
Officials said the state was pre-positioning firefighting crews in vulnerable areas, not just in Los Angeles but also in other Southern California counties that were also under elevated fire danger.
The two main wildfires erupted last week, fueled by hurricane-force winds bringing dry air from the inland deserts.
At least 24 people have died in the fires since then, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported.
The wildfires have destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 structures, turning entire neighborhoods into smoldering ash and piles of rubble, leaving an apocalyptic landscape.
As of Monday, more than 92,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders — down from a previous high of more than 150,000 — while another 89,000 faced evacuation warnings.
The Palisades Fire, which wiped out upscale communities on the western flank of Los Angeles, burned 23,713 acres (96 square km) and was 14 percent contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire’s perimeter that firefighters have under control.
The Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of the city consumed another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) and was 33 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported.
A third fire of 799 acres (3.2 sq km) north of town was 95 percent contained and three other fires in the county have been fully brought under control in recent days.
The Eaton fire damaged the Altadena home of Lorraine Bryan, 63, and destroyed two other dwellings on her property. She told Reuters she worries about getting additional doses of insulin that she needs to manage her diabetes.
“I’m worried about insurance and about rebuilding and getting back on my feet,” Bryan said Monday, standing in the doorway of her charred home. “I need my medication. I’m trying to see who can help us.”
Death and arrests
Deputies are finding human remains every day as they search through burned-out parts of Altadena, where the Eaton fire first ignited, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“It is a very grim task,” Luna said, adding that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise in the days ahead.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in US history. It is already the costliest wildfire in terms of insured losses.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Monday said 10 people had been arrested in connection to the fires. Nine people were arrested for residential burglaries of fire-stricken areas. One other person was arrested for arson, for allegedly attempting to light a tree on fire in the city of Azusa, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
US Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said during a Monday press conference there was “a special place in hell” for looters.
Flanked by law enforcement personnel, he added: “And if the folks behind me have anything to say about it, there’ll be a special place in jail for you too.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was sued on Monday on claims that it failed to properly manage water supplies critical to fighting the deadly Palisades Fire, a court filing showed. Residents who sued allege the department should have maintained water in a nearby reservoir, which was dry at the time the fire first erupted last Tuesday.
Aid and politics
“Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires across Los Angeles,” said US President Joe Biden, who announced additional disaster assistance for California, covering costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures.
But top Republicans in the US Congress are considering imposing conditions on disaster aid, accusing the state’s Democratic leadership of mismanaging water resources and forests.
California Governor Newsom and other top Democrats in the state have come under withering criticism for their handling of the fires.
President-elect Donald Trump planned to visit the disaster zone after he is inaugurated next week, a source familiar with the planning said.
With thousands of homeowners facing a costly rebuilding, large commercial banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have announced plans to ease mortgage repayment conditions for the afflicted. Insurers are looking at historic losses.


US lawmakers urge Biden to extend TikTok Jan. 19 ban deadline

US lawmakers urge Biden to extend TikTok Jan. 19 ban deadline
Updated 14 January 2025
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US lawmakers urge Biden to extend TikTok Jan. 19 ban deadline

US lawmakers urge Biden to extend TikTok Jan. 19 ban deadline
  • Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies ByteDance is making substantial progress toward a divestiture but it is unlikely ByteDance could meet that standard

WASHINGTON: Two Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged Congress and President Joe Biden to extend a Jan. 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell the US assets of TikTok or face a US ban.
The Supreme Court held arguments Friday on Tiktok and ByteDance’s challenge to the law. A lawyer for the companies, Noel Francisco, said it would be impossible to complete a sale by next week’s deadline.
He said if banned, the short video app used by 170 million Americans would quickly go dark and “essentially the platform shuts down.”
Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies ByteDance is making substantial progress toward a divestiture but it is unlikely ByteDance could meet that standard.
Senator Edward Markey said he planned to introduce legislation to delay the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days.
“A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process,” Markey said Monday.
“A TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
President-elect Donald Trump has asked the court to delay implementation of the law, arguing he should have time after taking office on Jan. 20 to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.
Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat, on Monday urged Biden and Trump “to put a pause on this ban so 170 million Americans don’t lose their free speech. Millions of Americans’ livelihood will be ended if this ban takes place.”
If the court does not block the law by Sunday, new downloads of TikTok on Apple or Google app stores would be banned but existing users could continue to access the app for some period. Services would degrade and eventually stop working as companies will be barred from providing support.
The White House did not immediately comment.