Bundles of trash connected to a balloon sent by North Korea are seen in a rice paddy in Mokdong, Yangcheong-gu, western Seoul, in this file photo taken June 2. - Photo: Newsis file
SEOUL: North Korea has sent around 240 balloons carrying trash toward South Korea and about 10 of them landed in the South, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
As of 10am, there had been no balloons detected floating midair, after North Korea launched such balloons Saturday (Aug 10), according to the South Korean military.
A very few balloons landed in northern areas of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, as North Korea appears to have sent them despite winds blowing in northern and northeastern directions.
Earlier in the day, Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said it has received two reports related to the North's balloons.
The JCS said the balloons carried scraps of paper and plastic bottles and did not contain any hazardous substances.
North Korea resumed its balloon campaign Saturday for the first time in more than two weeks. It also marked the 11th launch of trash-filled balloons this year.
In July, some balloons launched by North Korea landed in South Korea's presidential office compound in Seoul.
North Korea has launched more than 3,600 trash balloons since May 28 in a tit-for-tat move against balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown by North Korean defectors in South Korea.
In response to the North's campaign, South Korea has been conducting full-scale anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts daily through its border loudspeakers since mid-July.
North Korea has bristled at the loudspeaker campaign and the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets, on fears that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to the Kim Jong-un regime. - The Korea Herald/ANN
