South Korea passes bill to compensate damage caused by North Korean trash balloons

Seoul, Nov 14 (IANS) The South Korean National Assembly on Thursday passed a revised bill that provides state compensation for people who suffer damage from North Korea’s trash-filled balloons.

During a parliamentary plenary meeting, the ruling and opposition parties voted to amend the Framework Act on Civil Defense to provide compensation for citizens affected by threats that do not constitute a full-scale “civil defence emergency,” which refers to wars, armed conflicts and national disasters, Yonhap news agency reported.

The amendment allows the state or local government to provide full or partial compensation to people who suffer damage to their health, property or life as a direct result of the emergency as defined by presidential decree.

Since last May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation for what it claims are anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent across the border by activists in the South.

The revised bill is expected to take effect six months from now.

–IANS

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