Seventh wave of North Korean trash balloons disrupts Seoul and Gyeonggi

South Korean military officers clean the area where a balloon from the North Korea exploded in Seoul. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that as of 9 a.m. Thursday, more than 180 trash-laden balloons sent from North Korea on Wednesday night had been identified, including about 70 that landed in Seoul and Gyeonggi.

The JCS said that Pyongyang floated balloons carrying waste over the inter-Korean border at around 9:13 p.m. Wednesday.

Seoul’s military informed reporters that “northwesterly wind carried the balloons from northern Gyeonggi areas in a southeastern direction” on Wednesday evening.

Wednesday’s launch marks the seventh instance of North Korea sending trash balloons this year.

As North Korea has sent hundreds of waste-carrying balloons for three consecutive days since Monday, South Koreans have filed dozens of reports to the authorities.

In southern Gyeonggi, 47 reports about observing trash balloons were made between 5 a.m. Wednesday and 7:30 a.m. Thursday, according to police and fire authorities. Of the reports received, 19 were misreported.

Similar reports followed in other parts of Gyeonggi.

A report filed at 7:25 a.m. Thursday said a trash-filled balloon was found in an apartment compound in Gimpo, western Gyeonggi.

Yonhap News Agency reported that most reports were from people claiming they saw “paper-like materials falling from the sky.” It added that none of the reported sites were found to be hazardous.

Police and fire authorities have left the military officers to manage the aftermath of the reports. They also asked South Koreans to report if they observed the balloons and to stay away from them, as balloons weighing more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) can injure people when they descend.

The JCS said Thursday that it is inevitable that it will "resume anti-regime loudspeaker broadcasts” toward the North’s side if Pyongyang “keeps sending trash balloons filled with papers” to Seoul.

“The South has not operated the speakers [since June 9’s broadcast] to give reflective time to the North,” JCS spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun told reporters at a regular press briefing on the same day.

Lee added that the South Korean military does not plan to operate the speakers on Thursday.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, CHAE HYE-SEON [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]