[News Today] NK TRASH BALLOON CAUSES FIRE

[LEAD]
A fire erupted in a Paju, Gyeonggi Province warehouse following the fall of a trash balloon from North Korea on the 8th. Luckily, there were no casualties, but the property damage is estimated at nearly 90 million won. Fire authorities suspect a detonator on the balloon as the cause.

[REPORT]
A plume of gray smoke billows from the roof. The ceiling is charred.

This warehouse caught fire after a trash balloon sent from North Korea plunged at around 2 p.m. Sunday.

Lee Kwang-keun / CEO of nearby firm
I heard there was an explosion and smoke there.

The blaze has burned around 330 square meters of the warehouse roof.

Firefighters presume a detonator attached to the balloon is the cause of the blaze. Experts also say a fire may occur when a detonator for separating trash from the balloon explodes.

No human casualties occurred because the warehouse was empty at the time.

However, the fire has caused property damage of around 80 million won, or around 60,000 dollars, according to the fire authority's estimation.

Lee Kwang-keun / CEO of nearby firm
The same thing would have happened if it had landed here. We keep chemicals here. It would be devastating.

Lim Jae-min / CEO of nearby firm
I'm worried. We can be next. If a fire breaks out because of North Korean trash balloons, it would result in losses.

What's more concerning is that the balloons can be used for military purposes.

Eom Hyo-sik / Former Spokesperson, Joint Chiefs of Staff
This incident shows that the possibility of trash balloons being utilized for military provocations against South Korea in the future is very high.

North Korea has sent hundreds of trash balloons each of the 17 times it began its balloon campaign in May this year.

As of Sunday, a total of 1,250 balloons had been sent over the course of five days alone. Of these, 430 fell on South Korean territory.

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