Over 40 North Korean trash balloons detected overnight: JCS

This photo shows workers on June 25 handling waste contained in a balloon flying from North Korea in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul. (Courtesy of JCS)

Over 40 balloons carrying trash flew across the border from the North and fell in northern Gyeonggi Province overnight, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Friday.

The JCS detected at least 200 balloons flying from North Korea from 5 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday, and one-fifth of them dropped in South Korea. Residents of Seoul received an alert at around 5:50 p.m. Thursday that a North Korean balloon had entered South Korea's territorial airspace.

The balloons mostly carried paper trash. No safety hazard had been detected so far, according to the JCS on Friday morning.

The JCS said in a statement that the North Korea regime "would be met with the consequences it deserves" if it repeats such behaviors, adding that South Korea's military would take all necessary actions.

North Korea resumed the sending of its trash balloons after 22 days.

South Korea's military on Thursday resumed loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea in response to North Korea's launch of trash-carrying balloons, from 6 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday. It was the first loudspeaker broadcast in 39 days.

The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency announced it had received 66 emergency calls related to the trash balloons, and no damages had been reported as of 5 a.m.

Before Thursday's incident, North Korea was estimated to have launched over 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May. The balloons came in response to propaganda leaflets criticizing the North's Kim Jong-un regime previously being floated across the border.

By Son Ji-hyoung(consnow@heraldcorp.com)