PAJU, South Korea: When North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash over the border to South Korea last week, the move sparked emergency alerts and round-the-clock media coverage in its neighbour.
But while many South Koreans likely did not linger for too long on the incident, for residents living near the heavily fortified border, it was just the latest in a worrying rise in tensions between the Koreas.
“Some people consider it a problem for someone else’s neighbourhood,” said Yoon Seol-hyun, who owns a guesthouse and a travel agency in the border town of Paju, urging all South Koreans to pay attention and help do more to calm the situation.
Friction has been increasing as the South responded to the balloons by resuming military activities along the demarcation line. Seoul has not ruled out the return of loudspeakers to blast propaganda at the border with the North.
The border area is popular with local and foreign tourists keen to take a peek at the isolated North, but Yoon said his business in Paju, which is about 35km north of the capital Seoul, had been hurt by the rise in tensions.
No Hyun-ki, 60, another Paju resident, is also worried about the recent tit-for-tat retaliation between the Koreas.
“Then there’s no choice. .. but to have a sense of fear that North Korea’s artillery might fly towards this place,” said No, describing Paju as “the tensest city”.
