Hello Kitty, Parasites: Inside North Korea Trash Balloons According to South 

A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Yonhap via AP, File)
A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Yonhap via AP, File)
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Hello Kitty, Parasites: Inside North Korea Trash Balloons According to South 

A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Yonhap via AP, File)
A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Yonhap via AP, File)

Among the trash that balloons carried over the border from North were articles printed with Hello Kitty characters, badly worn clothing, and soil containing traces of human feces and parasites, South Korea said on Monday.

North Korea has flown balloons carrying trash since late May, with hundreds landing in South Korea. South Korea deployed military explosives units and chemical and biological warfare teams to inspect the objects.

The items also included clothes that had been donated from the South that were slashed and cut up, and general trash that appeared to be hastily collected, the South's Unification Ministry, which handles the North, said in a report.

North Korea has said the balloons were retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who regularly send over balloons carrying food, medicine, money and leaflets criticizing the North's leaders.

Parasites and human DNA were found in the dirt in some of the plastic bags, which shows it contained fertilizer that used human feces, the ministry unification ministry said.

North Korea, which suffers a chronic food shortage, depended on South Korea for massive shipments of chemical fertilizer until such aid was suspended in 2007 as Pyongyang accelerated weapons development.

The trash contained worn items of clothing with Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Hello Kitty characters as well as socks, gloves and children's clothes that had been heavily patched up, masks with fabric stitched by hand and two layers of shirts sewn together.

Last week, the North warned it would send more balloons carrying trash.



Who is Hashem Safieddine, Leading Candidate to Succeed Nasrallah?

Hashem Safieddine in a photo from 2015 (AFP)
Hashem Safieddine in a photo from 2015 (AFP)
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Who is Hashem Safieddine, Leading Candidate to Succeed Nasrallah?

Hashem Safieddine in a photo from 2015 (AFP)
Hashem Safieddine in a photo from 2015 (AFP)

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Lebanon's Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday, raising questions about who might succeed him after 32 years in power.

While the process for selecting leaders in groups like Hezbollah is often secretive, Hashem Safieddine emerges as a top contender if the rumors are confirmed.

A cousin of Nasrallah and the father of the son-in-law of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Safieddine has been groomed for leadership since 1994.

Safieddine closely resembles Nasrallah in appearance and mannerisms. He moved from Qom to Beirut to lead Hezbollah’s Executive Council, which functions as the party’s governing body, with oversight from the late security chief Imad Mughniyeh.

For three decades, Safieddine has been a key player in Hezbollah, managing day-to-day operations and financial affairs while leaving strategic decisions to Nasrallah.

Safieddine, who has been on the US terrorism list since 2017, is a prominent Hezbollah official known for his close connections to both the military and executive branches of the group.

His relationships within the party have made him a significant player in its leadership.

Safieddine’s Strong Ties to Iran Enhance Leadership Chances

Safieddine has strong connections with Tehran, having spent years studying at the Qom seminary before being called to Beirut by Nasrallah to take on key roles in Hezbollah.

In 2020, his son, Rida, married Zainab Soleimani, the daughter of Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad that same year.

Sixteen years ago, an Iranian newspaper suggested Safieddine as a potential successor to Nasrallah, but sources indicate that the decision was made much earlier.

A former senior Hezbollah leader revealed that Safieddine was chosen about two years after Nasrallah became Secretary-General in 1992, following the assassination of Abbas al-Mousawi by Israel.

Safieddine was urgently summoned from Qom to Beirut in 1994 to take a position that allowed him to control the party’s financial and administrative operations.

His chances of succeeding Nasrallah are strengthened by their similar paths within the party, although Nasrallah, who is only two years older, carries a more significant political presence.

Safieddine has remained largely unknown in Lebanese politics until recently.

Due to heightened security around Nasrallah, he has stepped into the spotlight at party events, especially during funerals for members killed in Lebanon or while fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and other areas supporting Iran’s regional agenda.

Limited information is available about Safieddine. He was born in 1964 in Deir Qanun al-Nahr, a town in southern Lebanon, to a family with a strong social presence.

His family includes Mohammad Safieddine, a prominent MP in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as several well-known religious figures.