North Korea has been sending thousands of trash-filled balloons across the border since May. Recent investigations show that these balloons, made using plastic bags filled with garbage and manure, were wrapped in a gunpowder belt - a strip containing gunpowder - and released into the air using hydrogen-filled balloons.
The balloons were also equipped with a timer device that generated a spark to detonate the gunpowder belt, causing the trash bags to scatter and fall. The way these balloons were designed suggests that they were crafted as weapons with specific intentions, posing a threat to South Korea.
Data obtained from the Ministry of Defense by Rep. Chai Hyun-il of the Democratic Party revealed on Oct. 6 that the trash balloons were made by attaching plastic bags filled with filth and manure to rubber balloons 3 to 4 meters in diameter.
The bags are attached to a battery-powered heat timer, according to the Ministry of Defense. A gunpowder belt is wrapped around the trash bag like a waistband and connected to the timer with wires. After the balloon takes off and a certain amount of time passes, the timer sends an electric current through the wires, creating a spark. This ignites the gunpowder belt, causing the bag to rupture and scatter its contents.
“Initially, there had been speculations that a heated wire connected to the timer melted the bag to release the trash, but now it’s clear the gunpowder was the explosive force,” said Rep. Chai.
However, it remains unclear what type of gunpowder North Korea used and how the powder was processed to form a belt.
These gunpowder belts explain why fires broke out in some places where the balloons landed. A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, “If the balloon falls to the ground faster than the time set on the timer, the gunpowder could explode on the ground, setting the trash bag on fire.”
North Korea sent over 5,530 trash-filled balloons on 22 different occasions between May 28 and June 22, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The balloon launches resulted in 78 damage incidents, including warehouse and factory fires, broken vehicle windows, and impaired building roofs. Flight takeoffs and landings were disrupted more than 20 times at Incheon and Gimpo airports.
“Most of the balloons collected by the military were equipped with timers and gunpowder belts,” said a military official.
While North Korea claims that it is launching these balloons in retaliation for South Korean activists sending leaflets with anti-Pyongyang propaganda, military experts warn that these balloons could be further weaponized.
The accuracy of these launches has notably been improving. In the second round of balloon releases in June, only 12.5% of the balloons landed on South Korean territory. But by the tenth round in July, the rate had risen to 96%, an eightfold increase in accuracy in just a month. Some even landed on specific locations like the Yongsan presidential office, the National Assembly Library, and the Defense Ministry building, indicating a more targeted approach.
“By launching thousands of these balloons, North Korea appears to be accumulating data on factors such as wind direction, wind speed, timer operation time, and the amount of hydrogen gas used in the balloons,” said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy at the Sejong Institute. “In the future, they might be able to hit targets with considerable accuracy.”
Some experts are concerned that North Korea could fill the balloons with biological or chemical agents instead of trash. Although no biological or chemical agents have been detected in the balloons, experts warn that the potential release of cholera bacteria or toxins could cause substantial chaos.
