North sends 330 trash balloons to South over weekend

North Korea sent approximately 330 balloons carrying trash to South Korea since Saturday, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Sunday.

A balloon carrying trash, suspected to have been sent from North Korea, lands in the Han River near Jamsil Bridge in southern Seoul on Sunday. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

North Korea sent approximately 330 balloons loaded with trash to South Korea since Saturday, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Sunday.

The JCS said that about 80 of these balloons have fallen in South Korean territory as of 10 a.m., while the rest are believed to have mostly landed in the sea, with some possibly falling in North Korea.

A JCS official told reporters that the launch of these trash-carrying balloons was largely ineffective, as most failed to reach their intended destinations. The balloons carried trash, such as paper waste, but no toxic substances.

This marks the third instance of such balloon launches from the North, following the release of around 1,000 trash-loaded balloons between May 28 and 29 and last weekend.

As of 8 a.m. Sunday, there were a total of 29 reports of trash balloons in Seoul, spotted across the capital. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued public safety alerts to residents at 11:09 p.m. on Saturday, warning them about the relaunch of trash-loaded balloons and advising them to avoid contact.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry has instructed the military to maintain normal shifts on Sunday, viewing the North’s additional balloon launches as a serious matter.

South Korea's National Security Council (NCS) is set to hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss responses against the North's launch of trash-loaded balloons.

After the last meeting, South Korea announced it would take measures that the North would find "unbearable" in response to their provocations.

The South Korean government on Tuesday suspended a 2018 inter-Korean military pact that prohibited both Koreas from conducting live artillery drills or outdoor exercises involving units larger than a single regiment within a buffer zone extending 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from either side of the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the peninsula.

The accord also banned warships or coastal guns from firing live artillery shells along the inter-Korean boundaries in the Yellow Sea and East Sea and prohibited fixed-wing aircraft from conducting tactical drills involving air-to-surface missiles within the buffer zone.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]