North Korean trash balloons found to contain dangerous parasites

Tensions between South Korean and communist North Korea escalated following reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had signed a defense deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Another source of tension between the countries is the trash-filled balloons that North Korea has been sending in the direction of South Korea, a long-time U.S. ally.

Now, Bloomberg News is reporting that according to officials in South Korea, many of the balloons have been found to contain parasites associated with fecal matter.

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According to Bloomberg News' Shinhye Kang, "an examination of the contents in dozens of them have found parasites, such as roundworms, whipworms and threadworms."

"Tensions have been rising along the heavily militarized Korean border zone in recent weeks," Kang reports. "Kim Yo Jong, the outspoken sister of North Korea's leader, said more balloons may fly soon across the border after activists in South Korea floated balloons into North Korea this month and the South Korean government began broadcasts by loudspeakers at the border pointed north."

Kang adds, "The balloons sent from the activists usually contain leaflets critical of the Kim family ruling North Korea along with items such as U.S. dollar bills, bags of rice, and USB sticks with K-pop music to entice North Koreans to pick them up."

Tensions between North and South Korea have existed for many years. The Korean War started in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea and continued until 1953; U.S. troops supported South Korea, while North Korea was allied with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union.

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Read Bloomberg News' full article at this link (subscription required).