N. Korea again sends trash balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has resumed its trash balloon campaign Friday evening, South Korea’s military said, marking the latest in its back-to-back balloon launches in the past three days.

In a notice sent to reporters at 6:38 p.m., the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch of suspected trash balloons and warned they may move toward northern Gyeonggi Province depending on wind direction.

The latest move marked the North’s fourth launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border since Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the JCS said it detected North Korea launching some 260 trash balloons from Thursday night to early Friday, with about 140 trash bundles being found in Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital.

The bundles that have been recovered largely contained paper and plastic bottles, and no hazardous substances were found, according to the JCS.

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.

In response, the South’s military has been blasting daily anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border since July 21.

North Korea has bristled against the anti-Pyongyang leaflet and loudspeaker campaigns on fears that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to the Kim Jong-un regime.