North Korea sends 600 more trash-filled balloons over border

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea has floated another 600 trash-filled balloons across the border, the South’s military said Sunday, with personnel in hazmat suits seen collecting piles of rubbish containing everything from cigarette butts to bits of cardboard and plastic.

South Korea has called the latest provocation from its nuclear-armed neighbour “irrational” and “low-class” but, unlike the spate of recent ballistic missile launches, the trash campaign does not violate UN sanctions on Kim Jong Un’s isolated regime.

Seoul has warned of strong countermeasures unless the North stops the balloon bombardment, saying it runs counter to the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War hostilities.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called on the public to stay away from the rubbish heaps, though “no hazardous substances have been found.”

Around 900 balloons have been sent southwards by Pyongyang since Tuesday, the JCS said, adding that the latest wave began arriving late Saturday.

As of around 10 am (0100 GMT) on Sunday, “approximately 600 balloons have been identified, with about 20 to 50 balloons per hour moving through the air”.

The balloons are landing in northern provinces, including the capital Seoul and the adjacent area of Gyeonggi, which are collectively home to nearly half of South Korea’s population.

The latest batch of balloons have been full of “waste such as cigarette butts, scrap paper, fabric pieces and plastic,” JCS said.

“Our military is conducting surveillance and reconnaissance from the launch points of the balloons, tracking them through aerial reconnaissance, and collecting the fallen debris, prioritising public safety,” it said.

“We urge the public to avoid contact with the fallen waste balloons and report them to the nearest military unit or police station,” it added.