Kim Jong-un’s sister threatens to deluge South Korea with lavatory paper

South Koreans will be constantly “picking up lavatory paper” if Seoul continues to wage “psychological warfare” against North Korea, Kim Jong-un’s sister said,, as hundreds of balloons carrying rubbish floated across the border.

Kim Yo-jong threatened further retaliation against South Korea, saying “it will undoubtedly witness the new counteraction of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] if provocations continue”.

“This is a prelude to a very dangerous situation … The Republic of Korea will suffer a bitter embarrassment of picking up waste paper without rest and it will be its daily work,” Ms Kim said on Sunday, using South Korea’s official name.

North Korea began sending balloons carrying rubbish and animal faeces south across the border last month in response to propaganda sent north by South Korean activists.

Pyongyang continued sending hundreds more balloons on Saturday and Sunday after a group of defectors in South Korea sent their own balloons carrying USB drives containing Korean dramas and music, as well as US dollar notes and leaflets criticising Kim Jong-un.

South Korea also resumed loudspeaker broadcasts on Sunday, blaring K-pop music and world news toward the northern side.

On Monday, Seoul’s military said North Korea had sent more than 300 balloons overnight, but that the winds had not worked in Pyongyang’s favour.

“Although they launched over 310 balloons, many of them flew toward North Korea,” the joint chiefs of staff said, adding that about 50 had landed in South Korea so far.

The latest batch of balloons that reached the south contained lavatory paper and plastic, but no toxic materials.

But Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP that escalation is likely to continue and that “North Korea will do something beyond our imagination”.

Pyongyang may attempt to fake a chemical attack in South Korea, Prof Kim said, like “throwing flour”, which will “cause absolute panic in the south, which they will be happy about”.

Since this latest escalation in tensions, Seoul has restored its military presence along the north-south demarcation line. South Korea and the United States dropped precision bombs on simulated targets for the first time in seven years last week.