North Korea said Sunday it would stop sending trash-filled balloons across the border into the South, saying the "disgusting" missives had been an effective countermeasure against propaganda sent by anti-regime activists. South Korean military officers on a Seoul street check unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons between the night of June 1 and 2, 2024. Earlier this week, Pyongyang described its "sincere gifts" as a retaliation for the propaganda-laden balloons sent into North Korea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons had been landing in northern provinces, including the capital Seoul and the adjacent area of Gyeonggi, which are collectively home to nearly half of South Korea's population. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong -- one of Pyongyang's key spokespeople -- mocked South Korea for complaining about the balloons this week, saying North Koreans were simply exercising their freedom of expression.
