Korean DMZ Tensions Cause South Korean Soldiers To Open Fire On Balloon

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By Ryan Pickrell

South Korean forces opened fire with machine guns Tuesday on what was most likely a North Korean propaganda balloon.

The South Korean military fired 90 K-3 machine gun rounds at an unidentified object that crossed the demilitarized zone (DMZ) near Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, The Korea Herald reported. The object was caught on radar, and observers initially suspected that it might have been a North Korean drone.

South Korea sent out warning broadcasts three times. “We have yet to verify the vehicle,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters. “The analysis is ongoing. The military has beefed up our anti-air surveillance and maintained readiness posture.”

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are running particularly high as North Korea continues making threats and launching missiles at an increased frequency. The South Korean defense minister recently stated that the North’s missile program is advancing at an accelerated rate, one much faster than previously expected.

However, the object that crossed the DMZ was most likely not a unmanned aerial vehicle.

“The objects were in the shape of a balloon … [and] flew in the wind’s direction before disappearing,” a South Korean military official told CNN. “Our military responded in accordance to our military protocol.”

The South Korean military also responded with machine gun fire after a North Korean aircraft crossed the DMZ last year.

The North and the South regularly send balloons filled with information or propaganda into one another’s countries, dropping leaflets for citizens to see. In the past, North Korea has put fecal matter inside balloons.