N. Korea launches trash balloons toward S. Korea for 5th day
Balloons carrying trash float over North Korea's border county of Kaepung, in this photo taken from South Korea's border city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Sept. 5. Yonhap
North Korea sent more trash balloons toward South Korea on Sunday, the South's military said, in what marked the fifth straight day of such launches.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North resumed its balloon campaign at around 9 a.m., just hours after it floated some 200 balloons late Saturday.
"Considering the safety of our people as the top priority, the military will resolutely and calmly respond in accordance with the manual," the JCS said.
In response to the balloon launches, the South's military has been blasting daily anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border since July 21. It has refrained from directly shooting down the balloons, citing safety concerns.
Around 50 trash bundles landed in the capital and Gyeonggi Province from Saturday's launch, but no hazardous materials have been found, the JCS said. They largely contained scrap paper, pieces of plastic and plastic bottles.
Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea.
Sunday's launch marked the 17th round of balloon launches since late May. (Yonhap)