[RYAN ROBERTSON]

NORTH KOREA IS MAKING A STINK IN ITS LATEST MOVE — ESCALATING TENSIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA. IN AN OVERNIGHT OPERATION — THE NORTH KOREANS LAUNCHED HUNDREDS OF BALLOONS FILLED WITH TRASH AND EXCREMENT INTO SOUTH KOREAN TERRITORY. SEOUL’S MILITARY CONFIRMED THIS UNUSUAL ASSAULT WEDNESDAY — ADDING A NEW LAYER TO THE YEARS OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO NATIONS.

OVER 260 BALLOONS WERE DETECTED LANDING IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS — INCLUDING SEOUL — WITH SOME TRAVELING MORE THAN 180 MILES FROM THE BORDER. THESE BALLOONS CARRIED GARBAGE, PLASTIC BOTTLES, OLD BATTERIES — AND MANURE. WHILE NO DAMAGE WAS REPORTED — CHEMICAL AND BOMB DISPOSAL UNITS ARE COLLECTING THE OBJECTS FOR ANALYSIS.

SEOUL’S JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF SAID THESE ACTS BY NORTH KOREA CLEARLY VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SERIOUSLY THREATEN THE SAFETY OF ITS CITIZENS.

THE ATTACK FOLLOWS NORTH KOREA’S DECLARATION OF “TIT-FOR-TAT ACTION” AFTER ANTI-PYONGYANG LEAFLETS WERE SENT BY SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVISTS IN RECENT WEEKS. THE RECENT MOVES BY BOTH SIDES ONLY ADD TO THE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE TWO NATIONS — THAT ARE STILL TECHNICALLY AT WAR.

SOUTH KOREA — THE UNITED STATES — AND JAPAN CONDEMNED THE NORTH’S ACTIONS AS A VIOLATION OF U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS.

FOR YEARS — NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS AND SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVISTS SENT LEAFLETS VIA BALLOONS TO THE NORTH TO ENCOURAGE OPPOSITION TO THE PYONGYANG REGIME.

IN 2014 — THESE ACTIVISTS ESCALATED EFFORTS AGAINST KIM JONG UN’S “INFORMATION MONOPOLY” BY LAUNCHING BALLOONS CARRYING ONE-DOLLAR BANKNOTES — RADIOS — CDS — AND LEAFLETS DENOUNCING THE REGIME.

FOR MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING ABOUT THE TENSIONS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA–BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT US AT SAN – DOT – COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON.