N. Korea trash balloons disrupt flights in Seoul, cause rooftop fire

A woman cycles along a pavement past pieces of North Korean food packaging, sweet wrappers and paper suspected to be from trash balloons sent from North Korea, in Seoul on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. – AFP

SEOUL: North Korea has sent about 500 balloons laden with trash into South Korea's air space over the past 24 hours, officials in the South said on Thursday (July 25), disrupting flights and igniting a fire on the roof of a residential building.

The balloons are part of an ongoing propaganda campaign by Pyongyang against North Korean defectors and activists in the South, who regularly send balloons carrying items such as anti-Pyongyang leaflets medicine, money and USB sticks loaded with K-pop videos and dramas.