Defense Minister Shin Won-sik has strongly denounced North Korea's flying of trash-carrying balloons towards South Korea, calling it a clear and grave violation of the Armistice Agreement.

Speaking at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, Shin referred to the North's balloon activity as a "shameful and vulgar act" beyond the realm of imagination by a normal state. 

Shin also criticized Pyongyang for launching a rocket using UN-banned ballistic missile technology, claiming it to be a reconnaissance satellite, as it continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities despite the international community's strong opposition. 

He said the North's indiscriminate nuclear and missile development program is a prevailing threat that can strike all the countries in attendance, urging the international community to faithfully fulfill UN Security Council resolutions regarding the regime.

The minister emphasized that the North's complete denuclearization through protection of the global nonproliferation regime is an indispensable step for stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.

[Photo : KBS News]