600 more trash-carrying NK balloons into S. Korea

Seoul, June 2 (UNI) North Korea dumped some 600 more trash-carrying balloons into South Korea amid continued GPS signals jamming for five straight days against the South, Seoul’s military said Sunday.

The South Korean presidential office was considering taking countermeasures, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has detected more than 600 balloons that floated across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and fell in different parts of the country between 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

The balloons carried various pieces of trash, such as cigarette butts, paper and plastic bags, just like the previous balloons, according to the JCS.

North Korea previously sent around 260 balloons carrying trash and excrement to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday after it warned of a “tit-for-tat action” against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by the South’s activists.

The JCS advised people not to touch the objects and report them to nearby military or police authorities. It also warned of possible danger from the balloons, the Yonhap report said.

The Seoul city government on Sunday said it will operate an emergency center 24 hours a day to respond to such objects.

The North’s balloon launches come after a recent series of provocative steps, including the botched attempt to launch a spy satellite Monday.

South Korea’s presidential office is set to hold a meeting of the National Security Council later Sunday to discuss the North’s balloon provocation, the Yonhap report said.

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