N.Korea sends 600 trash-carrying balloons to S.Korea: Seoul’s military

Seoul: North Korea has sent around 600 balloons carrying trash to South Korea, Seoul’s military said on Sunday, despite a warning that South Korea would take “unendurably” painful measures against such provocative acts.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has detected around 600 balloons that floated across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and fell in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province since 8 p.m. on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported.

The balloons carried various pieces of trash, such as cigarette butts, paper and plastic bags, just like the previous balloons, according to the JCS.

North Korea previously sent around 260 balloons carrying trash and excrement to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday after it warned of a “tit-for-tat action” against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by South Korea’s activists.

The JCS advised people not to touch the objects and to report them to nearby military or police authorities and warned of possible danger from the balloons.

The Seoul city government also said on Sunday that it will operate an emergency centre 24 hours a day to respond to such objects.

–IANS

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