Balloons launched by North Korea float over central Seoul in this file photo taken Oct. 8, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — A North Korean balloon carrying propaganda leaflets landed in the presidential compound in Seoul on Thursday, the presidential office said, hours after North Korea launched balloons across the border as part of a resumed campaign against the South.
The South Korean military said earlier that North Korea launched more balloons toward its territory early Thursday, raising concerns that they might drift toward the Seoul metropolitan area and the border provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon.
“Early this morning, a North Korean balloon filled with trash exploded in the air, scattering debris around the Yongsan government building area,” the Presidential Security Service (PSS) said in a statement, adding that the objects posed no danger and had been safely collected.
The PSS said it is monitoring the situation in coordination with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The latest launch comes after Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of the North’s leader, claimed Tuesday that the North discovered and removed “political motivational rubbish” sent by the South the previous day.
Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent across the border by activists in the South. It last launched such balloons on Saturday.
(Yonhap)
