North Korea Releases Over 240 Trash Balloons... Only About 10 Cross Over

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on the 11th that approximately 240 trash balloons released by North Korea from the afternoon of the previous day until early morning were identified, and among them, about 10 fell in the northern Gyeonggi region on our side.

As of 10 a.m. that day, the Joint Chiefs added that no trash balloons were detected in the air. It is known that North Korea stopped releasing trash balloons at dawn.

The contents of the balloons were paper materials, plastic bottles, and other trash, and there were no hazardous substances, the Joint Chiefs added.

This release of trash balloons by North Korea is the 11th this year and the first in 17 days since the 24th of last month.

This time, only about 4% of the identified balloons fell in our area. Compared to the approximately 500 trash balloons identified on the 24th of last month, with about 480 found in our area, this is a very low figure.

The military estimated that despite the south and southwest winds, the small number of balloons crossing into our area was due to North Korea forcibly sustaining the balloons.

During the release on the 24th of last month, balloons fell within the Yongsan Presidential Office compound, and a balloon fell and burst on the rooftop of a multi-family house in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, causing a fire.

While some voices call for actively shooting down the trash balloons, the military maintains the policy of collecting them after they fall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.