North Korea is confirmed to have found parasites in the soil included in the discarded balloons. The Ministry of Unification announced today in its ‘Analysis Results of North Korean Spread Trash’ that “when the contents of the balloons sent by North Korea were analyzed by a specialist institution, parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms were found in the soil included in the trash.” The Ministry stated, “Considering the discovery of human genes in the soil, it is possible that these parasites originated from human excrement.”
However, the Ministry added that the amount of soil spread this time is considered to have no harmful elements such as land pollution or infectious diseases. The Ministry emphasized that the balloons sent by North Korea are not ordinary trash but rather a large amount of “trash for spreading” hastily made with waste paper, plastic, and torn fabric, citing PET bottles with the labels and caps removed as an example.
North Korea has previously scattered a large number of clothing donated by South Korean companies since 2000, often deliberately damaging the Korean products with scissors or knives to show hostility towards South Korean goods.
In this trash batch, heavily worn socks and torn children’s pants were included, demonstrating the dire economic situation inside North Korea. The clothing also contained numerous counterfeit replicas of famous characters such as Mickey Mouse from Walt Disney, Winnie the Pooh, and Hello Kitty from Sanrio.
Notably, among the trash distributed this time are placards featuring ‘Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un idolization documents.’ The paper waste included documents with phrases like ‘Lessons from the Great Leader Kim Jong-il’ and documents mentioning Kim Jong-un’s activities as the speculated ‘General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea.’
Under North Korean law, ‘defacement of leadership education documents’ is considered a serious crime that can be punishable by death.
North Korea had previously retaliated against South Korean leaflets sent to North Korea by distributing trash-filled balloons four times from May 28 to June 9.