South Korea to blare K-pop at North Korea after launch of trash balloons: reports

North Korea launches trash balloons at South Korea

North Korea on Wednesday launched nearly 300 balloons filled with manure and other trash at South Korea. Dr. Edward Howell at the University of Oxford joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow to discuss the bizarre incident.

South Korea will likely respond to North Korea’s launch of balloons filled with trash with "unbearable" retaliation, including blaring K-pop, world news and criticisms of North Korea’s policies over loudspeakers.

North Korea has flown nearly 1,000 balloons carrying trash and manure toward South Korea over the past week, prompting the South’s military to mobilize chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects and debris in different parts of the country. The balloons haven’t caused any major damage in South Korea.

In addition to the rubbish-filled balloons, North Korea also simulated nuclear strikes against its neighbor and reportedly interrupted GPS navigation signals. North Korea said the balloons were a reaction to South Korean activists flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border using their own balloons.

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with a photo of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, at a train station in Seoul on May 30, 2024. North Korea fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles early May 30, Seouls military said, h

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South Korea officials called the North Korean aggression "absurd, irrational acts of provocation that a normal country can’t imagine."

The country’s national security director said South Korea will respond with "unbearable" retaliation, though they didn’t offer specifics.

According to The Associated Press, those measures will likely include front-line loudspeaker broadcasts into North Korea that include criticism of its abysmal human rights situation, world news and K-pop songs. It wouldn’t be the first time South Korea has used loudspeakers to respond to provocation from the North.

North Korea rocket carrying spy satellite explodes

North Korean rocket carrying its second spy satellite exploded shorty after launching. This is a setback for leader Kim Jong Un who wants to operate multiple satellites to monitor the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to such broadcasts because most of its 26 million people have no official access to foreign TV and radio programs.

Since 2022, North Korea has sharply increased its pace of weapons tests to build a bigger nuclear arsenal. Last week, it fired a barrage of nuclear-capable weapons into the sea in a drill simulating a preemptive attack on South Korea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.