North Korea Flies Trash Balloons over South
2024-05-30
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1North Korea has flown hundreds of balloons carrying trash and manure toward South Korea.
2The strange action led the South's military to organize chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects in different parts of the country.
3The balloons came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his military scientists Monday to overcome a failed spy satellite launch.
4He said space-spying technology is important to counter U.S. and South Korean military activities, state media said Wednesday.
5Kim also warned of "overwhelming actions" against South Korea over a recent military exercise near the Korean border.
6The military exercise took place hours before North Korea's failed launch on Monday.
7In a speech Tuesday, Kim called the South Korean exercise a "direct military challenge" toward North Korea, North Korean state media said Wednesday.
8South Korea's top military leaders said North Korea has been flying large numbers of trash-carrying balloons toward the South since Tuesday night.
9The South's military said about 260 North Korean balloons were found in different parts of the country as of Wednesday afternoon.
10They were being recovered by the military and explosive clearance teams.
11The military said the balloons only held trash and manure.
12So far, the military has found no human waste.
13It's told civilians not to touch any objects from the balloons and to report to the military or police after finding them.
14South Korean officials said the balloons are in response to South Korean activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda papers across the border.
15Kim Kang II is the North Korean Vice Defense Minister.
16He said in a statement the North was planning to spread "wastepaper and filth" over border areas and other parts of South Korea.
17He called the action a direct reaction to the spread of anti-North Korean messages by South Korean activists.
18Kim Yo Jong is the North Korean leader's powerful sister.
19On Wednesday, she said on state media the North was simply exercising its freedom of expression by sending the balloons.
20The Seoul government has cited freedom of expression as a reason for its inability to stop anti-North Korean activists from flying propaganda across the border.
21Images released by the South Korean military showed trash spread across highways and roads in different parts of the country.
22In Seoul, military officials found what appeared to be a timer that was likely meant to break up the bags of trash in the air.
23There were no immediate reports of damage caused by the balloons.
24Similar North Korean balloon activities damaged cars and other property in 2016.
25Kim Jong Un's comments about the satellite came during a speech at the North's Academy of Defense Sciences.
26He visited the academy a day after a rocket carrying what would have been his country's second military spy satellite exploded shortly after launch.
27Monday's launch drew criticism from South Korea, Japan and the United States.
28The United Nations bans North Korea from carrying out any such rocket launches.
29The U.N. considers such actions as covers for testing long-range missile technology.
30North Korea has not commented on when it would be ready to attempt a satellite launch again.
31Some experts say it could take several months.
32I'm Dan Novak.
1North Korea has flown hundreds of balloons carrying trash and manure toward South Korea. The strange action led the South's military to organize chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects in different parts of the country. 2The balloons came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his military scientists Monday to overcome a failed spy satellite launch. He said space-spying technology is important to counter U.S. and South Korean military activities, state media said Wednesday. 3Kim also warned of "overwhelming actions" against South Korea over a recent military exercise near the Korean border. The military exercise took place hours before North Korea's failed launch on Monday. In a speech Tuesday, Kim called the South Korean exercise a "direct military challenge" toward North Korea, North Korean state media said Wednesday. 4South Korea's top military leaders said North Korea has been flying large numbers of trash-carrying balloons toward the South since Tuesday night. 5The South's military said about 260 North Korean balloons were found in different parts of the country as of Wednesday afternoon. They were being recovered by the military and explosive clearance teams. The military said the balloons only held trash and manure. So far, the military has found no human waste. It's told civilians not to touch any objects from the balloons and to report to the military or police after finding them. 6South Korean officials said the balloons are in response to South Korean activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda papers across the border. 7Kim Kang II is the North Korean Vice Defense Minister. He said in a statement the North was planning to spread "wastepaper and filth" over border areas and other parts of South Korea. He called the action a direct reaction to the spread of anti-North Korean messages by South Korean activists. 8Kim Yo Jong is the North Korean leader's powerful sister. On Wednesday, she said on state media the North was simply exercising its freedom of expression by sending the balloons. The Seoul government has cited freedom of expression as a reason for its inability to stop anti-North Korean activists from flying propaganda across the border. 9Images released by the South Korean military showed trash spread across highways and roads in different parts of the country. In Seoul, military officials found what appeared to be a timer that was likely meant to break up the bags of trash in the air. 10There were no immediate reports of damage caused by the balloons. Similar North Korean balloon activities damaged cars and other property in 2016. 11Kim Jong Un's comments about the satellite came during a speech at the North's Academy of Defense Sciences. He visited the academy a day after a rocket carrying what would have been his country's second military spy satellite exploded shortly after launch. 12Monday's launch drew criticism from South Korea, Japan and the United States. The United Nations bans North Korea from carrying out any such rocket launches. The U.N. considers such actions as covers for testing long-range missile technology. 13North Korea has not commented on when it would be ready to attempt a satellite launch again. Some experts say it could take several months. 14I'm Dan Novak. 15Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 16_____________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18balloon - n. a thin usually rubber bag that becomes larger when it is filled with air or gas 19manure - n. solid waste from farm animals that is used to make soil better for growing plants 20response - n. something that is said or written as a reply to something 21overwhelm - v. to affect very strongly 22challenge - n. a difficult task or problem 23academy - n. a school that provides training in special subjects or skills